Long Road Home
by mskairijade
Summary: Destiny Trilogy Book Three: Will Draco and Hermione's Love withstand the Long Road Home? Trilogy now completed
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well I'm back! Sorry about the stupid deletion but the good news is the suspension is over and I'm gonna try and get as much up as possible in the next 2 days. For those of you who have read this before it's deletion by the mods, you'll notice that the first 2 chapters and prologue are now rewritten and completely different than before. The reasons for this is because 1) I got sick of trying to get it validated and whatnot here and at HPFF the way it was and 2) I really wasnt happy with the way it flowed. Currently, I'm almost done rewriting chapter 2 but as of now I'm not planning to rewrite anything else though that is subject to change depending on how I think it flows. As before, please please please please review and let me know what you all think! Love you all! Kai**

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_**Long Road Home**_

_will their destiny lie in the future, or is it trapped somewhere in their past?_

_**Prologue**_

A battered and bruised, nineteen year old woman lay in a head, huddled in the corner of her cold, damp, bare cell. She had been here for almost eight long months and she was starting to fear she'd never make it out alive. That she'd never see her fiancé again, or her brand new baby girl that was only two little months old when she disappeared. She had even spent her nineteenth birthday in that very cell, given a birthday present of countless beatings and curses.

The woman was also surprised that it seemed that no one in the outside world either knew she was missing--though that seemed impossible because she had left on a mission and just never shown up and it's not a normal thing to simply get lost during a portkey trip. But, yet, that's exactly what happened. She had left with the others that morning by portkey only to experience some sort of invisible force trapping her within the portkey and changing her destination. She was supposed to be headed to Egypt but instead she found herself face down on the hard concrete of the very cell that had become her home for the past eight months. And yet, no one had ever come to find her or even looked for her at all--something that she wasn't positive of but by the fact that she was still there after all this time, it was starting to look that way.

Instead she had been left here to endure months of beatings and curses and other awful things that the mind couldn't even fathom. She had been raped multiple times now by her own almost-father-in-law and the images of each encounter haunted her every time she closed her eyes and fell into unconsciousness on that cold, hard floor. She was enduring countless flashes of the encounters whenever she was alone in the room, which was all the time except when one of the Death Eaters that were holding her captive decided to beat her or throw curses at her or whenever Lucius decided to try and break her spirit by raping her. She knew that she would never have had to endure Lucius' pain if it wasn't for the fact she loved his son and helped him to betray his father and the Dark Lord.

She had come to the conclusion a few months before that if she wanted out of this place, she was going to have to find some way to escape herself, which was not an easy task considering they had broken her wand when they took her, but she was determined to find a way…no matter what the cost.

She had tried countless times to call out to her fiancé using their joint telepathy but had yet to be able to reach him and that scared her to no extent. She didn't want to think about the possible reasons why she couldn't contact him, they had overcome the distance problem and had been able to communicate to each other from great distances, so why couldn't she hear him? Or perhaps he couldn't even hear her. As she passed out again that cold Christmas eve night, she recalled the beautiful holiday she had spent just a short year ago with her friends and her wonderfully loving fiancé, both anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first baby, a girl, that would be born only two short months later and named Alexis Jade Malfoy. As her body and mind were swept once more into a deafening state of unconsciousness, she cried out telepathically one more time, begging and pleading that her beloved would finally hear her and answer her pleas.

_Please sweetheart, please hear me. Save me from this hell before it's too late…._

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That same cold, December, night, a young, heartbroken man kneeled on the ground in front of a beautiful marble angel tombstone in his family's cemetery. The snow fluttered all around him, freezing normal people to the bone but tonight, this young man couldn't feel the cold. He was completely numb with grief that his friends and loved ones were greatly becoming scared of his mental health. He was a very young man, only eighteen years old, but he appeared many years older. His once flawless, pale, skin had now lost it's illuminant glowthat it had once had and he had already begun to develop small lines around his eyes. The once bright and sparkling ice-blue eyes that had enticed and enthralled many a young girls in their time were now distant and dull, as if the life force that had made his eyes shine and twinkle had been abruptly put out.

He kneeled in the harshly cold snow this night, his eyes lowered to the ground and his fingers fiddling with a platinum band that was a circled serpent….the matching piece to the beautifully detailed serpent, diamond, emerald, and ruby ring that had resided on the beautiful angel he loved; the angel that was now buried six feet beneath him, taken from him and their daughter much too soon. She had been overcome with her destiny and the fate that had come to her best friend and it had overwhelmed her life to the point where he had felt he no choice left but to take their newborn daughter and go into hiding somewhere safe until the time when she had finally overcome the obstacles that had overcome her life. The young man had never regretted anything more than he regretted that day looking back now. When he left with their baby girl that morning after his fiancé had gone to a meeting, he had never imagined in his worst, most terrifying nightmares, that it would've been the very last time that he would have ever seen his angel.

She disappeared later that same day in a mysterious portkey accident--that's what the ministry and everyone had finally begun calling it-- and had never been seen or heard from again. Never, that is, until the fateful day he picked up the morning's daily prophet that day in October, six long and tiresome months after her disappearance. The prophet's front page held a large picture of his angel, dressed in her Head Girl robes from a couple years prior during their last year at Hogwarts. Her bright smile was shining up at him and his deep honey brown eyes were twinkling the same way they had the first time they had emitted their love for each other. The young man's heart leapt into his throat when he saw the picture until his eyes drifted slightly upwards and he saw the terrible headline that was placed directly above the picture….

_**Former Head Girl Found Dead on Egyptian Beach**_

That was the beginning of the end of the young man's life, or at least that's how it felt to him. He remembered shoving his chair back and leaping to his feet disbelievingly when he read those words. He could feel his heart shattering into a million pieces and he felt as if he had just received the dreaded Dementor's Kiss--like his very soul had been ripped unwillingly from his body.

Now he was spending his Christmas eve night the same way he had spent very many days and nights for the first few weeks after the article was released….kneeling in front of the large angel tombstone that he had erected in memory of his angel--his one true love.

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The cold, battered young woman awoke to a familiar sound the following morning, the evil, malicious, voice of her almost father-in-law.

"Get up Mudblood." his gritting voice echoed through the dark cell and jerked the young woman from her uneasy sleep.

He strolled determinedly across to where she lay in a crumpled and dirty heap in the corner and the young woman immediately gritted her teeth and forced her mind to go somewhere else because she knew what was about to come, the same thing that she had awoken to almost every morning for the past -- gods she didn't even know how long it had been going on for anymore.

As her body was tortured in every way possible, her mind refused to focus on the acts that were currently happening and instead she focused, as she always did during these 'episodes', on finding a way out and back to her family. She was suddenly overcome with a tremendous feeling of hope, a feeling she had not felt in many, many months and had almost completely begun to believe didn't exist anymore and somehow she knew that finally, this day would be her last in this hell. She opened her eyes slowly, the first time she had actually opened her eyes during one of their morning rituals, and that's when she saw it--her hope.

Just a short distance from where they were laying, his cloak lay strewn on the cold floor and there, sticking out of the pocket of the cloak, gleaming like a beacon in a foggy night, was her salvation--his wand. All she had to do was reach out and grab it. She slowly slid her arm towards the wand, trying desperately to keep his attention elsewhere so that he would not notice. Closer, closer, her fingers moved till finally it was in her grasp. With one final push, not caring whether or not he noticed anymore, she lunged sideways and clasped her bony fingers around the slender piece of wood. Using every ounce of power she could muster, she shoved her attacker backwards and shot up, her adrenaline pumping rapidly and pointed the wand at her attacker.

He saw what she was doing but it was too late. She had already thrown a harsh stunning spell at him and unlocked the door using the same unlocking spell she had heard the other Death Eaters use on countless occasions. She was surprised that her magic seemed to come back so naturally after many months of unuse but it all seemed so natural. She knocked out a few more Death Eaters that she met in the corridor and ran as fast as her weakened legs could carry her. It was after the second turn that she realized that she had no clue where she was at…she had assumed for months that they had simply taken her back to the Malfoy Manor as they did last time but this was definitely not it. Summoning up her intuition she followed the corridors through, making abrupt turns every so often when her gut told her to and after about 30 minutes she went cautiously through a heavy iron door and was blasted with a sight she had so longed to see for the past eight months….sunlight. She gasped and blinked her eyes a few times, trying to adjust to the brightness after only seeing the inside of a dim dungeon for eight long months. Finally her eyes adjusted well enough to look around and she saw that she was in an alleyway . Traveling towards the street she saw just up ahead, she emerged into what she noticed was a busy bustling street. Glancing around to see if she could recognize anything, she realized after a few moments that she was in the one place she had always dreamed of being--Venice, Italy.

Taking one last long look down the alleyway to ensure she was not being followed and, taking a deep breath and stuffing the confiscated wand into her pocket and covering with the tattered tail of her dirty shirt, made her way on to the bustling Italian street, her mind focused now on one thing and one thing only….

_Draco Malfoy._


	2. A Shocking Reunion

**A/N: okay well I hope you are all enjoying this little rewrite! Here's the second rewritten chapter!

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_Chapter One: A Shocking Reunion_**

It was January 1, the brand new start of a brand new year. Draco's loved ones had finally convinced him after returning from the old Malfoy Cemetery on Christmas Eve that he needed to try to move on, for his daughter's sake. He had thought about it for a few days, talked it over with his closest friend (which surprisingly had become non other then Ron Weasley himself…the death of a loved one can bring many people closer together) and decided that they were right. He decided that he would sell the manor that he had bought with Hermione when they graduated Hogwarts and move away with their daughter, Alexis, who was now almost a year old. Draco also decided, without almost any thought to it all, that he would move himself and his daughter to the one place that he had always promised that he would take Hermione on their honeymoon--Venice, Italy. Hermione had always loved Italy and everything about it--the food, the people (whom she met a few of through Draco's friend Blaise Zabini)--just everything.

Only a short week later after finally deciding to move away to Italy, he found the perfect place just outside of Venice that immediately reminded him of Hermione--his angel. It was a beautiful Italian-Victorian type villa, not too big to be considered overly large but just the right size to accommodate Draco's lavish taste. Fifteen rooms -- 5 bedrooms, 4 full bathrooms, a large dining room and kitchen, parlor, study, sun room and of course, the one thing that almost immediately sold him--a very lavish library. Two quick days later (thank gods for magic!), he and his little daughter had moved into their new home--completely furnished with everything that either of them would ever need.

Deciding to celebrate their 'new life', Draco decided to take his baby girl into downtown Venice and spoil her a little--a new wardrobe, new toys, new just about everything because, well he could afford it and he wanted to do it. So, three days after they moved in, he awoke early and quickly dressed in a warm, deep green jumper and black wool slacks. Moving down the hall a bit to Alexis' bedroom (which was decorated in honor of Hermione in pinks, golds, and Unicorns--Hermione's favorite colors and her favorite mystical animal), he saw that his little angel was still fast asleep in her brand new 'kid sized' gold iron bed, covered in a soft pink silk comforter with gold threading and little enchanted unicorns that moved around, her golden curls splayed around her hair like a tiny halo. He quietly moved to her wardrobe and pulled out some clothes for a day in the city (warm, tiny, light blue jeans, and an enchanted pale pink cashmere sweater that would magically adjust it's temperature to keep the wearer warmer or cooler depending on the temperature on the outside). As soon as Draco had set out the clothing, he heard a soft whimper and turned to see his little girl lying on her pillow staring up at him with a large grin on her beautiful features.

Crossing the room to kneel beside the small kid bed, he draws his hand lovingly across Alexis' forehead, giving it a small kiss.

"Morning, love." He says and is responded to by a small voice… "Dada." Draco smiled.

Forty-five minutes later, father and daughter were both dressed and fed and ready to go out on the town. Draco pulled both of their heavy winter cloaks and gloves on (yes Alexis did have cloaks and robes and stuff as well as normal 'muggle' wear) and they duo entered the living room. Throwing some Floo powder into the fireplace, the flames turned green and Draco picked up his daughter and stepped into the flames. Tightening his grip on Alexis, he hollered their destination into the flames and seconds later they were coming to a twirling stop in a cozy little café/restaurant in downtown Wizarding Venice. Draco brushed the soot off himself and his daughter and did a scouring charm to clean them both up and then they made their way into the streets of Wizarding Venice for a lovely father/daughter shopping day.

The two had a fun morning, Draco carrying Alexis into shop after shop, sometimes toys, sometimes clothes, her bright blue-green eyes twinkling happily. It was nearing lunch time and Alexis was beginning to show that she was getting hungry so the duo made their way through the streets while Draco looked for a good place to eat. While his eyes peered up and down a busy street, he caught a flash of honey brown curls on a slender body that nearly caused him to crash into a person walking in front of him. He shook his head and mumbled an apology and continued on his way, holding Alexis a little tighter in his arms.

_I must be losing my mind.. _Draco thought to himself. _I almost could've sworn I just saw Hermione._

An hour later, Draco and Alexis were finally sitting outside under a huge umbrella at a small outdoor café that Draco had seen. It wasn't very crowded on this side street and, while Alexis was happily munching away on her grilled cheese sandwich, Draco allowed his eyes to wander once again around at the people on the street. After a couple of minutes, he caught a glimpse of those honey brown curls again that had distracted him earlier and he followed them with his eyes this time as they made their way slowly down the other side of the street, closer to where he and Alexis were sitting. The young woman who he'd been following with his eyes came to a stop almost directly across from Draco and he watched the woman digging through the pockets of her muggle jeans frantically as if searching for something. Her head was bent over so that her curls were hiding her face from his view but he could swear that there was something very familiar about this woman.

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Hermione was wandering slowly through the streets of downtown Venice, looking for something to do to gain some money to find her way back towards England. She had a few galleons and sickles that she had accumulated over the past few days but nowhere near the amount she needed for a long train ride to England, not to mention she had barely eaten over the past few days and had to sleep somewhere. She had used her stolen wand to Scourgify herself and her clothing every day so that she wasn't clambering around like some homeless witch--she had a home, she just had to get back to it.

As she turned down a quieter street in Venice that day, she realized it was around lunch time and she was starting to grow hungry. It had been over 24 hours since she'd last eaten, at breakfast the day before, and she saw that this street was much less busy than the main roads and had a couple tiny little cafes that were sure to be cheaper than most Italian eateries. She had transfigured her clothing two days before into a simple pair of jeans and a long sleeved, light blue shirt…comfortable but warm enough for her in the chilly January weather. As she made her way slowly down this quiet street, she saw a small outdoor café across the street and decided to make her way towards it and suddenly felt this strange warm sensation that felt vaguely familiar. She stopped suddenly across from the café and began digging through her pockets for the one thing she still had that reminded her of her lost family--her engagement ring (she had taken it to help keep anyone from stealing it off her finger, it was rather expensive after all). She looked at it longingly and slipped it back in her pocket for a moment, taking out the wand instead and quickly casting a small glamour-like charm so that no one would recognize her (she already had a small one on but she just wanted to make sure). She had been in this area once before a few nights before and she didn't want anyone to know she was the same girl who was desperately searching for money that night. Hermione replaced the wand in her pocket and removed the ring once again, holding it tightly in her hand as she felt the warmth radiate from it before placing it carefully on her left hand and took a deep breath.

Just before she turned to cross the street, she felt a tingling sensation like someone was watching her. She glanced around warily and gasped out loud and what she found. Right there, across the street, sitting outside at that little café Hermione was about to go to, was someone with pale blond hair and that man was staring directly at her.

_No it's not possible. _Hermione thought to herself as she shook the thoughts away. _What would Draco be doing in Venice? He would be at home with our daughter….our daughter…._

Her thoughts trailed off as she glanced once again at the familiar looking blonde and realized that he wasn't actually alone--there was a small girl sitting beside him, with golden blond curls. She locked eyes with the stranger for a moment and felt, once again, that strange warm sensation fill her body. Shaking her eyes from his again, she made her way across the street and went directly to the counter to order a small coffee and a blueberry muffin and sat herself down at a small table just a short distance from the blond stranger. Trying her hardest to keep her eyes only on her food and drink, she kept feeling the sensation of being watched and she was sure the man was still looking at her.

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Draco followed the girl with his eyes as she glamoured her appearance and crossed the street, finally sitting down just a few tables from him and Alexis. He wasn't sure why she had covered her appearance but she still seemed very familiar to him. He still wasn't positive who he was but, if he hadn't been grieving for Hermione's death for the past few months then he would've been positive it was her. Checking on Alexis who was still busily munching on her sandwich and talking to herself in that little kid gibberish that was so cute, he turned his attention back to the strange young woman and that's when he saw it--there was no mistaking it, that ring was a one of a kind. It was sitting right there on her left hand as she picked at the muffin and Draco was positive that it was the same ring that was paired to the one he still wore on a silver chain around his neck.

It was at that moment when he saw the ring sparkling on the woman's finger that he knew that he had to talk to her, to find out who she really was and how she managed to acquire said ring. He looked at Alexis again and saw that she was finishing up her sandwich and decided that it was now or never. As soon as Alexis took the last bite, he practically hoisted her from her seat and set her on his hip while he dug a few coins from his pocket to pay for their lunch. Setting Alexis carefully on the ground (she was able to walk fairly well already-_A/N: no this is not strange, my eldest daughter was running by the age of one and talking in full sentences by 18 months_) and taking her tiny hand in his, he took a deep calming breath and made his way towards the young woman.

Hermione felt a presence approaching her and gulped down a sip of her coffee quickly. She didn't want any sort of confrontation today but she wasn't sure who was approaching her. She saw the shadow of the person as it covered her and hesitantly she lifted her honey brown eyes and looked at whoever it was that was standing over her. Her voice got stuck in her throat however when she locked eyes with the person. There was no mistaking him now, she'd know those icy blue eyes anywhere. She gasped loudly at the prospect of being so close to Draco after almost a year apart. At first instinct, she wanted to jump from her seat and wrap her arms around him tightly, vowing to never let go again but she hastily pushed the instinct back and just sat there staring at him.

Draco heard the audible gasp as he locked eyes with the caramel haired woman and saw a glimmer of recognition flash through her honey colored eyes. Those honey brown eyes were so familiar but he still wasn't convinced that it was her until he heard the woman whisper something that practically convinced him on the spot.

"Draco." Hermione whispered, never moving her eyes from his.

Draco's eyes widened and he immediately sat himself down in a chair next to her and just stared at her, his eyes shifting rapidly between her honey eyes and the serpent ring on her finger. Alexis was now holding onto Draco's leg but he honestly barely noticed her. Almost automatically, he reached his hand up towards his neck and slowly pulled the chain out from under his sweater and looked down at the band attached to it….it was definitely the other half of the one on the woman's finger. It had to be her, it just had to be. But yet, it couldn't be because she was supposed to be dead….right?

Keeping a lock on Draco's eyes, Hermione very slowly moved the wand from her pocket and whispered under her breath the counter for the glamour she had placed upon herself. If this really was Draco sitting in front of her and not just some sick twisted joke of her imagination, then he would notice her. She felt the strange tingling sensation as the glamour removed itself and jerked her eyes away from his for fear of his reaction. It had after all been almost a year since they'd seen each other and perhaps there was a chance that he did not feel the same way about her anymore. Because she moved her eyes, she did not see Draco's eyes widen with shock as the glamour was removed and begin to glisten with unshed tears at the realization that after all this time, Hermione really was alive and that she was sitting right there in front of him.

Draco couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say. His heart leapt through his throat when the glamour on the girl in front of him was removed and he received confirmation that this was in fact Hermione Granger, his angel. Her now long, flowing, golden brown waves flowed gracefully over her shoulders and to her mid-back. Her deep honey brown eyes that he used to fall into to were now filled with sorrow and fear and confusion mixed with happiness and hope. He traced her face with his eyes and saw that she now had a couple small 'battle' scars--one above the corner of her right eyebrow and the other on her left cheek, along the jawbone. Draco was so entranced by her that he almost didn't hear her speak when she whispered to him.

"I'm sorry." Hermione whispered almost too quietly for him to hear but she knew he had when she finally pulled up the courage to look up slightly and saw that his eyes were now leaking silent tears.

This finally broke Draco from his reverie and without a second thought, he immediately jumped from his seat (Alexis letting go of his leg and climbing into the chair he'd just vacated, watching her father with curiosity) and jerked her from her own chair, wrapping his arms around her tightly and burying his face in her hair. After a moment of surprise, Hermione finally melted into his arms and wrapped hers around him as well, holding so tightly for fear that if she let go he'd vanish again.

After what seemed like an eternity, Draco pulled back slightly and grabbed the sides of Hermione's face, pulling it upwards towards his and staring deeply into her eyes, as if searching for confirmation that this wasn't another one of his hopefully imagination jokes and after he seemed to receive that confirmation he immediately, without hesitation, pressed his lips to hers in a kiss so intense you would've sworn you felt the ground literally shake. Hermione snaked her hands cautiously up his chest and around his shoulders, one hand finding it's way instinctively into his silky hair, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss that they had both waited so long to share.

They finally pulled away from each other and stared into each other's eyes, each one completely baffled by what had happened and neither still fully aware of it either. All they each knew was that finally all their prayers seemed to have been answered and here they each were, standing in front of each other, their arms holding each other and their eyes locked in a loving gaze. It felt like hours before either of them could finally find their voices but finally Hermione did.

"Oh my gods. I've missed you so much, Draco. I was beginning to think I'd never see you again." Hermione said quietly, her eyes tearing up still.

"I was sure I'd never see you again." Draco said, then suddenly was reminded of what had happened so many months ago when she had disappeared. "And I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. I never should've left like that."

"Shh, Draco. I don't want to talk about then." Hermione said, gazing into his eyes. "I've been through so much to get back to you and now that you are here I never want to let go."

Hermione's gaze traveled suddenly from Draco's eyes to the little girl sitting in the chair behind him, staring up at the couple curiously as if trying to figure out who this woman talking to her father was. Then it hit Hermione like a ton of bricks…this was Alexis…this was her daughter, her baby girl….and she had no clue who Hermione was. Hermione smiled at the little girl momentarily, vowing to herself that she would never let that little girl out of her sight again and then returned her eyes to Draco's.

"Do you have somewhere we can go? I just want to spend some time with my family." Hermione asked, her eyes lighting up at the word 'family' and she smiled at Draco.

Draco nodded quickly. He turned around and picked up Alexis hastily, holding her tightly against his hip and grasped Hermione's waist with the other arm, pulling her as close to him as possible for the side-by-side apparation. He gave a quick smile to his daughter and another one to Hermione. With a loud POP the three disappeared into thin air. But just before they disappeared, Draco thought to himself happily….

_Now everything is finally right again…._


	3. Shattered Souls

**A/N: here's the final rewritten chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!

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_Chapter Two: Shattered Souls _**

Draco, Hermione, and Alexis, landed in a tight group in the middle of a beautiful, bright, foyer. Hermione immediately gasped at her surroundings. The high ceiling was enchanted like the one at Hogwarts but this was a moving painting instead of the sky--it was a picture of a beautiful angel with long golden brown waves that cascaded down her back and all around her as she flew slowly and silently around the ceiling. The background was made up of radiant golds, blues, and whites like a shot of the bright golden sun shining on a beautiful clear day. There were about four statues of angels in different poses stationed in each corner of the foyer and it was all accentuated by the beautiful cream colored marble floor that was laced with cracked gold.

"Wow, Draco," Hermione said in awe, still looking around the room, taking in each and every detail. "What is this place?" Draco looked at her solemnly.

"This is ours, that's to say it's mine and Alex's but now that you are home I guess it's really ours now. We bought it a couple weeks ago and just moved in a couple days ago. Ron spent the last month convincing me that it was time to move on and I thought that this would be the perfect place to start my life over." Draco said, his eyes turning sad.

He glanced at the child on his hip and realized she had fallen asleep so he motioned for Hermione to follow him quietly and they made their way up the stairs and down a short hallway to Alexis' bedroom. Draco tucked his daughter into her bed and silently moved towards the door only to notice that Hermione was still standing beside the bed, silent and unmoving, staring down at the little girl. As she slowly knelt by the bedside and very carefully and gently pushed a small curl from Alexis' forehead, her eyes brimmed slightly with unshed tears as she watched the beautiful little girl that was her baby. Alexis had grown so much and Hermione had missed it all, it killed her to know that. After a couple tense moments, Draco finally approached Hermione and gently pulled her to her feet, whispering that they should let Alex sleep now--that she'd have plenty of time with her daughter later. Hermione nodded meekly and followed Draco from the bedroom and down the hall into his bedroom.

Immediately, Hermione found herself tensing with anxiety and nervousness. It felt strange to be in Draco's bedroom now after all this time. Sure the last time she'd seen him they had been sharing a room for close to a year and had a child together but it was different this time. After eight long months of pain and torture, it was as if she was meeting Draco again for the first time, even though she already knew she loved him. She had never stopped loving him and had fought every day of those eight months to find a way back to him and their daughter but now that she had, she almost felt as if she didn't belong here anymore and it frightened and saddened her.

Draco moved silently about his room, shifting through some of his purchases from the day. A few minutes passed by when he finally realized that Hermione had not only stayed silent but was still standing completely still by the door. It was if someone had frozen her in place with a shocked look of fear and uneasiness on her beautiful face. Sudden realization kicked in and Draco rushed to her side, realizing that she felt out of place and was unsure of what she should do. For Draco, it was if no time had passed. From the moment his arms wrapped around Hermione's waste and his lips pressed against hers, it was as if the past eight months had never happened. For Hermione however, there was no way she could forget the past eight months and frankly she was confused as to how Draco could just seemingly forget it. Hermione had no clue as to what had happened to Draco over the past few months, nor did she have any clue why she hadn't been able to reach him but she had simply chalked it up to too much distance or some kind of wards surrounding the building she was being held in. The thing she never could understand is why she had been there for so long in the first place. Of course she knew WHY she was there, Voldemort was trying to get her to give in and do his bidding. What she didn't know was why no one had been able to find her in eight months. Why hadn't Draco been able to find her with their connection? Why hadn't the Order or even the Ministry been able to track her down?

Hermione's questions flooded her mind once more as Draco rushed to her side and pulled her into another tight embrace. This time however, she did not embrace him back, she couldn't. She had to know, she needed answers and she needed them now before any more time passed. Draco, realizing that she was not embracing him in return, pulled back from her and stared into her eyes, seeing the pain and the confusion and even some mixed anger residing there.

"Mia, what's wrong?" Draco asked concernedly. "Everything's going to be alright now. We're finally together, the way it's supposed to be and I promise you, I will never let us be parted again….I promise."

Hermione listened as Draco promised they'd never be apart again but she still had her unanswered questions.

"Well, Draco, as happy as I am to finally have you and our daughter back in my life, I still cant help but wonder where you have been for the past eight months? Do you have any idea what I've gone through to get back to you?" Hermione asked, her emotions getting the better of her.

Draco's happiness wavered momentarily and he led her over to the bed and walked over to the desk, pulling what looked like a tattered and worn piece of parchment from one of the drawers and went back to the bed, sitting down beside her.

"For six long months, I searched and searched for you everywhere. The Order was searching, the Daughters were searching. We even raided the Manor twice in hopes that you would be there but nothing worked. It was as if you simply disappeared into thin air. But I never lost hope, I knew that some day we'd find you somehow. That was until about two and a half months ago. That's when all my hope vanished in a heartbreaking moment when the Daily Prophet released this…" Draco told her, handing her the worn piece of parchment.

Hermione looked at him curiously, unable to speak, as she took the parchment from Draco's hand. Draco watched intently as Hermione read the writing on the parchment, her eyes tearing up and growing wide as she read. Hermione had to read the article three times before she was finally able to comprehend exactly what it was saying--she was supposedly dead? She lifted her tear filled honey brown eyes and looked at Draco, who's eyes were just as clouded over with confusion as hers were.

"I don't understand…" Hermione said slowly, looking back at the article in her shaky hands. "How could they have found my body? I'm right here, completely alive."

The newly reunited couple sat in silence for a few moments while Hermione continued to stare at the article in front of her, as if desperately trying to come up with an answer to why on earth the Daily Prophet would say such a terrible thing.

"So this is why no one ever found me." Hermione said, suddenly saddened. "Because everyone thinks I'm dead."

Hermione broke down at this. She couldn't believe that for the past three months, almost, she had been fighting ruthlessly for her life to get back to those she loved while in the outside world, all her loved ones had believed her to be dead. And what saddened her even more was the fact that no one, not one single person that she knew, had any clue where she had been or what had been happening to her. She didn't want to relive the memories but it appeared that she'd have to tell everyone what had happened because as soon as the news of her sudden appearance gets out, everyone in the magical world will be banging down her door. For the past week or so, her life has been one hectic mess. She had been hoping to get straight out of Italy and head back towards England but now she was so glad that she couldn't get out of the country yet.

"Mia? Are you alright?" Draco asked quietly, trying not to startle her from her thoughts. Unfortunately he didn't succeed and Hermione jumped a mile and jerked her head to look at him. When she saw him looking at her concernedly, she turned her eyes away again and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"I'm just thinking about the last eight months. You all must have been so worried and I'm sorry I put you through all that." She said quietly.

"Of course we were worried about you Mia! We all love you so much!" Draco exclaimed. "But why are you apologizing? It's not like you just took off or something. It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. If only I'd listened to you." Hermione was crying softly now. "If only I'd stayed and just let the others work on things for awhile. If I hadn't been so stubborn then I wouldn't have left that day and you wouldn't have taken Alexis from me and then non of the beatings and the curses and the worrying and….and…."

Hermione was sobbing into her hands now. Draco looked at her and immediately pulled her into his arms so that she was now sobbing hysterically into his chest. He had heard her rambling and wanted to know what she meant about beatings and curses but he didn't dare ask her now, not when she was so hysterical. Hermione continued to sob into his chest, soaking his sweater, while Draco stroked her hair lovingly and murmured sweet reassurances in her ear.

Finally after many long moments of simply holding each other as if the other would simply vanish did one dare to remove their grip, Draco pulled away from Hermione a bit and asked the one question that he had been burning to know since he had finally realized it was she who was sitting at that table at the little café in Venice. The same question that Hermione had been dreading since the same moment she realized that her love was standing over her.

"Mia, sweetheart, I have to know." Draco asked quietly and cautiously, not fully sure if he truly wanted to know the answer. "Where have you been?"

Hermione made a soft whimpering-like noise as she muffled a brief sob at the thought of the answer. She did not know if she could relive the brutal experiences but most of all she was overcome with the fear that had been plaguing her since she was able to escape from the clutches of her captivity….would Draco still want her after she told him what had happened? After a couple moments of intense collection of her composure, she lowered her head once again and began the tedious task of explaining her disappearance.

"Well the day you left, the day I was supposed to go by portkey with the others to Egypt to follow up on my discovery, something went drastically wrong. I still haven't figured out exactly how it happened but somehow Voldemort managed to manipulate the portkey so that instead of dropping me at the same destination as the others, it held on to me and dropped me in a hard cold cell in another country altogether." Hermione began.

"For the first few weeks, the captivity wasn't all too bad, considering the circumstances but after awhile, the usual unforgivable just didn't seem to work any longer. Voldemort disappeared for awhile and honestly I had thought, well more like hoped, that he had finally given up and realized that no matter what he did, I would never give in to his demands." She took a deep breath.

"That's when the torture began. And I'm not talking about the normal cursing either. I'm talking about full on muggle torture--whips, fists, kicks, anything that he believed would cause enough damage to keep me alive but leave me in such intense pain that I had no choice but to give in. During the next few months that I was there, the beatings, as well as daily cursing sessions continued ominously but strangely, Voldemort never showed his face again.

"Until one day when he showed up to tell me that since non of the other tactics seemed to be breaking me down, he had decided to allow his Death Eaters the ability to use any means necessary to get me to talk." Hermione stopped, her breathing becoming rapid, her eyes filling up with tears again and her body beginning to tremble as she recalled the first time one of the Death Eaters had used her body as their own personal blow up doll.

She continued her story, her breathing becoming heavier and the tears flowing down her cheeks in truants but never ceasing. She knew that if she was ever going to get everything out, it was best to just get it out as fast as possible. She told him everything, from the countless times she had been whipped and beaten to the multiple, practically daily, rituals of rape. Draco listened intently, his arm placed lovingly around her waist and his eyes widened in shock, hurt, and anger at the torture that his love had to endure.

Finally she reached the day of her escape and explained in almost minute detail exactly what transcribed that moment, leaving out one startling detail that she simply could not bring herself to tell the man that was listening. She couldn't tell Draco that it had been her father that had been raping her the day she escaped-- that is was his father's wand she had stolen and was still residing in her pocket.

_How does one tell the man she loves that his father broke down his true love's, his angel's, spirit?_


	4. Something's Wrong

A/N: okay this chapter is pretty much the same as it used to be, though some parts were changed a bit to mesh with the rewritten chapter 2.

* * *

**_Chapter Three: Something's Wrong_**

Hermione stopped her story because her composure was shot to hell. Draco was staring at her in shock, completely flabbergasted at what she had been through. Hermione was now looking downward at her hands which were ripping apart a Kleenex that had been in her pocket and there were hot tears cascading down her beautiful face. Draco reached an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him and she laid her head on his shoulder.

Draco watched as his love was ripped apart with emotion as she relayed her terrifying experience. But for some reason, one thing was still plaguing his mind. He was deathly curious as to who the unknown Death Eater that had been assaulting her the day of her escape was. Draco was mostly curious to this one because Hermione had mentioned that it was this man that had seemed to take an intensely serious interest in destroying her.

"Mia, sweetheart," Draco began quietly. "I know it's hard for you. I cant even begin to fathom how you actually managed to stay strong for so long or what you are feeling right now but I need to know something, please? Who was the last man, that last Death Eater bastard who touched you?"

Hermione began sobbing even louder, lifting her head from his shoulder and turning away from him. How could she tell the man she loved more than life itself that she had been beaten, cursed, and raped by his own father? She knew that he had 'killed' his father once because he was threatening her life but she had no clue what Draco would do when he learned what his father had done to her this time. That thought alone frightened Hermione.

"Mia? Hermione? What's the matter?" Draco asked suddenly realizing that she was now literally shaking fiercely.

"I…cant….I…I cant tell you." Hermione murmured through her racking sobs, her head still hanging in her hands.

Draco looked at her concernedly but he had to know. It was eating at him and she just told him about it not even thirty minutes ago. He placed his hand lovingly and protectively on her shoulder, trying to get her to face him.

"Mia, baby, please. I know it hurts but please, I need to know. Who did it to you?" Draco asked again, more gently this time.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione's sobs lessened and she was able to whisper a name. Unfortunately Draco didn't hear it so Hermione whispered it again.

"Mia, sweetie. I cant hear you." Draco said forcing Hermione to face him.

"Lucius, alright! It was your father!" Hermione practically screamed in his face then tore out of the room and into the adjoining bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Draco sat there awestruck at what she had said. Yes, Draco knew that his father had somehow been able to keep himself alive after being struck by the killing curse but he couldn't grasp the fact that his own father could do something so humiliating and degrading and just plain vicious to the woman his own son loved and was the mother of his own grandchild. His anger began to boil inside him, to a degree that Draco himself had never felt before. Sheer, unadulterated hatred towards someone not only close to him but his own father.

_How could Lucius do this to her?_ He thought bitterly to himself as helooked out the window._Oh he will pay. He will regret the day he ever laid a finger on my wife. **(A/N: Yes he called her his wife because in his mind she was, even though they hadn't officially been married yet.)**_

Draco hurried his steps, suppressing his hatred for the time being. He had to get to Hermione. He knew she needed him at that moment and he needed to protect her, to wrap her in his arms and hold her tightly. To let her know that everything would be fine.

While she had told Draco what had happened to her in that awful dungeon, the memories flooded her mind and her soul. Every time she closed her eyes she saw HIM and he was the only one that really mattered. In fact, as much as it pained Hermione to admit, when she had been talking to Draco and he was trying to get her to tell him who the last one was, Hermione had to turn away because every time she looked at Draco, all she saw was his father.

How was she ever going to get through this if every time she looked at her love, all she saw was his maniacal father? And that the older Draco got, the more and more he would probably look just like Lucius. She had to do something, but she didn't know what she could do to get her mind to differentiate the two.

Suddenly the door creaked open, as Hermione finally emerged from the bathroom, still wiping the last of the river of tears from her face. She immediately looked around the room and her eyes landed on a very pissed off and hurt looking Draco who Hermione could tell was desperately trying to hide his anger. Hermione felt slightly afraid given that she'd never seen Draco in quite this state of anger before and it almost scared her to think of what he might do if pushed just a bit.

Draco heard the door open and turned to face Hermione. He didn't know what to do or say but he knew that his father would pay for hurting her. He swiftly thrust his anger to the back of his mind knowing that right now Hermione needed him more than anything. Crossing the room swiftly, he wrapped his arms tightly around Hermione's thin frame and held her close, willing her pain away.

"Hermione, honey, it's okay now." He whispered lovingly in her ear, but to no response. She had yet to speak a word since exiting the bathroom and had an almost stoic and scared expression plastered on her paled features.

"Sweetheart, he's gone. He wont hurt you ever again, I promise." Draco tried again, but still nothing.

Hermione pulled away from him silently, looking up into his pale, icy blue eyes. She ran a hand across his cheek and suddenly turned from him, making her way across the large room to the window. Draco crossed the room behind her.

"We can get through this together Mia. You know we can." Draco said walking up behind her and placing his hands lovingly on her shoulders. "We've been through so much and now that we've finally found each other again, you must be crazy if you think I'll ever let you go again."

They sat there staring out the window together for what felt like hours till draco pulled away momentarily to send an owl to a nanny that he had hired part time when needed the day he'd bought the house. After the nanny arrived only twenty minutes later, Draco asked her to please watch over alexis that night so that Hermione and he could get reacquainted with each other. Once he dismissed the nanny, he crossed back to Hermione who was still staring out the window and placed his arms around her once again, turning her around to face him.

"Look, Mia. The nanny will stay here till tonight or as long as she's needed. Why don't you and I go out and take a walk or something and just talk, like old times. Please?" Draco asked.

Hermione nodded reluctantly. She desperately wanted to be there with her baby girl but she really wasn't in any state just yet to be with her. It was strange, she felt so detached from Draco and Alexis, almost as if she wasn't even part of the family anymore. Like she was an outsider watching a father and his daughter. Alexis had been only two small months old when Hermione disappeared and now she was a whole year old. Ten months is a very long time, especially for a baby and Hermione had missed everything…..the first time she sat up, rolled over, her first tooth (and many more since it seemed she had most of them already)--even her first step…all of it lost.

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An hour later they were headed down a small street in wizarding Venice, the same street in fact that they had met earlier that same day. Draco kept trying to hold Hermione's hand but Hermione kept withdrawing and stepping away from him slightly. After a couple long hours of walking up and down the streets slowly, chit-chatting but not really talking, Draco suggested stopping at a café for some light dinner. Hermione agreed and the two made their way to a small, quiet café that (thankfully to Hermione) was practically empty. Hermione sat down at a small table in the corner of the café and Draco went up to the counter to order them a couple of salads, pumpkin juice and a carafe of coffee.

While Draco was at the counter, Hermione got a strange feeling, like something was seriously missing. Remembering momentarily the many, many times that she had tried to contact Draco telepathically through the last several months, she tried to do it again. Reaching her mind out to him with as much energy as she could, she tried to reach his mind over and over but got no answer. She wasn't sure if he actually heard her or not so she had to wait till he returned to the table but was not feeling very good about the possibilities.

A few moments later, Draco walked over and sat down, handing Hermione a small chef salad (which he knew she liked) and poured her a cup of coffee. Hermione looked at him expectantly, as if she was just waiting for him to make some sort of sarcastic remark about trying to talk to him while he was ordering or something but nothing came. Instead Draco looked up at her and saw her staring at him and returned the look with one of curiosity.

"Talk to me Mia. Is there something wrong? You look worried." Draco asked as he took a sip of his juice and then reached his hand across the small table and placed his hand on top of hers.

"Yes Draco, apparently something is seriously wrong." Hermione answered, giving him a look of sheer concern and confusion.

"What? Mia, what's wrong?" Draco asked fearfully, thinking that she had somehow sensed there was a problem with their daughter or something like that.

Instead of answering right away though, Hermione closed her eyes and once again tried to focus on his mind, sending him a message. After a full two minutes, she breathed out heavily realizing she had been holding her breath for almost a full minute and looked up at him fearfully as tears sprang to her eyes at the sudden realization.

"Mia, stop it! You're scaring me!" Draco whispered angrily to her.

"Draco don't you understand? You couldn't hear me!" Hermione answered, her small voice full of tears.

"Hear you? Mia I can hear you just fine." Draco said, a look of confusion on his features.

"No! You couldn't **HEAR** me Draco." She said again, this time emphasizing 'hear' and tapping her temple. Suddenly Draco's eyes shot open with a sudden comprehension.

"What does that mean Mia? Why couldn't I hear you? Wait let me try." Draco said, closing his own eyes to help himself focus. They hadn't communicated like this in awhile.

Hermione focused on Draco's mind as well while he did this but still nothing. Draco looked back at her expectantly but Hermione sadly shook her head.

"Oh gods, this cant be good." Draco said, staring into Hermione's fearful eyes.


	5. Return to Hogwarts

**_Chapter Four: Return to Hogwarts_**

The couple immediately apparated back to the villa. They needed to get some answers and the only place they could think of was Hogwarts. They were sure that Minerva would let them bunk there for the night at least so they hurriedly packed a few things for themselves and Alexis, thanked the nanny and snatched up their daughter (who thankfully was awake at the time) and quickly Flooed to King's Cross Station (Hermione didn't want to risk apparation with someone as young as Alexis and Draco had never tried it before).

They quickly made their way onto the train which was just about to take off towards Hogwarts. The couple quickly found a compartment and slid in, Alexis sitting on Hermione's lap, slowly drifting to sleep. Hermione kept staring out of the window while Draco found it hard to keep his eyes off of her. He couldn't believe that she had actually become even more beautiful than he remembered.

She had cut her long hair, it was no longer down to her waist but just past her shoulders in beautiful honey colored waves that matched her eyes. Her posture seemed the same however, strong, powerful, and very independent. The only thing that Draco really noticed seemed different were her eyes. The deep honey brown eyes that used to make his heart melt and held so much love and compassion now seemed to be empty voids, free of any emotion but pain and heartache.

Three long and quiet hours later, the finally arrived at Hogsmeade station and began to make the short trek to Hogwarts. The air was still quite crisp so Draco placed his cloak over Hermione and Alexis to ensure they stayed warm enough as they made their way past the lake. Hermione stopped for a moment just before they were about to ascend the steps and looked upwards, taking in every inch of the massive castle above her.

"Are you sure its always been this big?" She asked, her eyes wide.

Draco smirked. "Yes, Mia, it's always been this big. Come on lets get inside to see Minerva."

They entered the castle and Draco took Alexis from Hermione who's arms were beginning to grow heavy, not being used to carrying such weight (not that Alexis is really that heavy but anyone who has kids knows what I mean) for such a distance. Shifting his daughter into one arm, he grasped Hermione's hand tightly. They heard massive noise coming from the Great Hall and Hermione realized that they were in the middle of dinner given that it was around 6:30-7pm. That also meant that Minerva would more than likely be in the Great Hall as well.

Just as they were about to step through the doors, Hermione pulled Draco back.

"Draco, you do realize that I cant exactly simply stroll in there!" She hissed at him.

"What are you talking about, sure you can. You are still the smartest witch to ever pass through here…I'm sure all the professors would love to see you." Draco responded.

"No, Draco! In case you forgot, I'm supposed to be DEAD remember? The entire wizarding world has thought me dead for the pasttwo and a halfmonths!" Hermione hissed again.

"Well, then lets just prove them all wrong." Draco said, pulling her along again. "Come on, sweetheart, everything will be fine." He flashed her his most sincere smile, the smile that always made her melt.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione grasped his hand tighter and they pushed through the great doors causing pretty much the entire hall to stop their talking and look their way, including all of the professors. Hermione heard a very audible gasp come from the professor's table and looked up to lock eyes with Minerva McGonagall, who was staring at the family with her hand covering her lips obviously in shock. The whispers began sifting through the hall as everyone continued to stare at Hermione. Minerva recovered from her shock and stood up from her chair.

"Nothing to see here, please return to your meals." She announced through the hall and immediately made her way around the table and towards the doors, followed by Hagrid who looked close to tears.

Reaching the couple, she ushered them out the doors and, as soon as the doors were closed, she swept Hermione into a great hug. Without a moment to breath after Minerva released her, Hagrid swooped her into his arms practically choking the life out of her. When she was back on her feet and had finally regained her breath, Minerva spoke.

"Dear child, where on earth have you been? The Daily Prophet announced you to be dead!" Minerva questioned her, still looking stunned.

"Perhaps we could move this reunion to your office, Minerva?" Draco interjected. "We need to discuss something rather important."

Minerva looked back and forth between the two and nodded. The group quickly made their way through the halls and up the stairs to the fifth floor. As soon as they had climbed the stairs behind the gargoyle and taken seats in the office, Hermione spoke up.

"Apparently, Voldemort and his followers sent out a false notice of my death, completely unknown to me until a couple of days ago when I finally found Draco and Alexis in Italy." Hermione explained.

"Whatever do you mean? Where have you been all this time, Miss Granger?" Minerva asked.

"Please, call me Hermione. I think that we have all known each other long enough that the formalities are no longer necessary. As for my whereabouts," Hermione paused, taking a deep breath and looking towards Draco for reassurance who nodded in return. "For eight months I was held captive in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor before I finally escaped thanks to the utter stupidity and carelessness of Lucius Malfoy."

Minerva gasped again. "But Lucius Malfoy is dead, has been for almost two years now."

"That's what we thought as well Minerva. Until we were shocked by his presence during a mission to the manor back before Alexis was born. It's a long story but we will tell that at another time." Draco interjected again.

"As I was saying, I was able to escape about two months ago but found that I had no clue where Draco was. I had tried to contact him many times using our connection but I was unable to get through to him. When I finally escaped I found that I was actually in Italy, not England where I originally thought. So I tracked myself around Venice for almost a week trying to work up some money to get back to England when suddenly, this morning, my family was finally brought back to me." Hermione concluded, trying to cut the story as short as possible.

Minerva just looked at her stunned for a few moments. Hagrid had silent tears (always was an emotional one wasn't he?) as he listened to Hermione's story. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Draco spoke up about the real reason for the visit.

"Actually, Minerva, we're here coz we seem to be having some sort of problem." Draco said, shifting his daughter to Hermione's lap now that she had woken up. "Apparently our connection seems to be gone for some reason. We've tried but neither one of us can seem to speak to the other telepathically or sense the others feelings and things like that. I'm not sure how long it's been going on but it definitely cant be a good thing."

"At least eight months." Hermione said quietly causing Draco to stare at her in disbelief.

"How do you know Mia?" Draco asked.

"Because," Hermione stated. "I tried to contact you the entire time I was held captive but I never got any response."

The four adults looked around the room at each other. No one spoke for a couple minutes until Alexis started whining and pulling on Hermione's shirt, trying to get her attention.

"Oh dear." A sudden voice from behind Minerva sounded. Everyone in the room looked at the portrait of the former headmaster, almost forgetting that it was there.

"It appears that we may have a problem."

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"Draco, do you think that what Dumbledore said is true?" Hermione asked Draco quietly as the two lay side by side in a large bed in one of the unused professor's quarters.

Alexis was sleeping peacefully again in a beautiful cradle that Minerva had conjured in the other room and Hermione and Draco were lying together forthe first timein close to a year, their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

"I sure hope not Mia." Draco said, sighing. "I don't even want to think about it right now, k?"

Hermione nodded and turned her head to kiss Draco on the lips sweetly. His arm tightened around her waist as he deepened the kiss. Gods knew how much he missed this, the kissing, the holding each other, everything. Melting into his kiss, Hermione turned herself to face him, bringing her hands up to cup the sides of his face. She missed this as well, much more now than she had realized. She drew a leg over his and his hand slid down to her thigh, pulling her even closer.

Draco pulled back slightly, breaking their kiss and taking a breath. They looked deep into each other's eyes and found themselves falling deeper in love than they were before. It was as if just a single look in the other's eyes would answer every question, right every wrong that had ever been done.

The fire ignited once again and they locked their lips again passionately, devouring each other whole. Feverishly they two deepened their embrace and Draco slowly pulled himself on top of Hermione, her leg still entwined around his own.

Their hands began to roam each other's bodies as if they were experiencing each other for the first time and within no time at all, they were both stripped of their clothes and huddled naked together beneath a thin sheet.

"I love you." They both murmured continuously as Draco dove into Hermione, joining them for the first time in almost a year.

They feverishly explored each other's bodies, keeping almost constant eye contact, as if they were both refused to look away or close their eyes for fear that when they did, the other would disappear and it would all be some dream.

The passion burned intensely between Draco and Hermione well through the night. It was in the very early hours of the morning when the two finally collapsed into each other's arms, completely exhausted. Curling themselves around each other, they finally allowed themselves to close their eyes after telling their love again.

As Hermione nuzzled her head into Draco's well toned chest, her breathing finally relaxed and she allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep after placing a tender kiss on his chest.

Draco, however, stayed awake for a bit longer, stroking Hermione's hair and holding her closely, listening to her breath and watching her sleep peacefully.

"I'm so glad you're home, Mia." Draco murmured into her hair as he finally began to doze off as well. "Please don't ever leave me again. I love you."


	6. Breaking News

**_Chapter Five: Breaking News_**

Hermione awoke in the early morning to the sound of a tiny voice calling "Dada" through the small joint rooms. Just as she was stirring herself to get up, she felt Draco spring out of bed and saw him practically dash into the other room where Alexis was, throwing on a robe quickly as he went. She didn't think she had ever seen him move so quickly before. Pulling herself off the bed, she quickly grabbed a robe and tossed it around her as she moved towards the doorway connecting to the other room but stopped before she entered and just stood there in the doorway watching the two of them--her family.

Draco was holding Alexis to his chest and rocking her back and forth in his arms gently singing to her. She was smiling up at her father as he was smiling down on her. Hermione watched from the doorway as Draco got their daughter ready for the day, changing and dressing her. He had just finished putting an adorable mint green sweater (with a magically animated flying snitch) on Alexis when he turned and noticed Hermione standing in the doorway watching them. Smiling at her, he sat Alexis down on the floor and whispered something in her ear. Immediately Alexis gave off a cute giggle and toddled across the room, stopping in front of Hermione and wrapping her tiny arms around her mother. Draco followed his daughter and wrapped his arms around Hermione as well, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek.

The couple dressed for the day (Draco looking hot as usual in a pair of expensive black Armani pants and a dark green silk Armani shirt while Hermione simply pulled on normal, tight jeans and a deep sapphire-blue sweater) and then headed to the Great Hall for breakfast with their daughter (Minerva had insisted they stay for a few days while they try to figure out what's wrong with their connection).

Walking into the Hall and proudly up to the head table, they took the extra seats at the end that Minerva had asked for and smiled their hello's at the professors. Breakfast was going smoothly for awhile till the morning post showed up and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet into Draco's hands. He gasped when he saw the front page and immediately thrust the paper into Hermione's hands, who stared at it in shock.

_**Former Head Girl Mysteriously Found** _

Four months ago, the Prophet announced that a body had been found along a well known beach in Egypt. It was said at the time to be the body of Former Hogwarts Head Girl, Miss Hermione Granger.

However, mysteriously, we've been informed as of yesterday that Miss Granger has indeed been found…very much alive and currently staying at Hogwarts. While it pleases us to know that the well-known piece of the infamous "Golden Trio" is indeed alive and well, it is a mystery as to why her body was said to be supposedly found and where Miss Granger has been for the past four months while everyone mourned for her.

Was she in hiding? And if so, why? Who is she hiding from? These questions and more are evident on everyone's minds with the new found information. Please keep a watch with the Daily Prophet as we try to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding Miss Granger's disappearance and sudden appearance.

"No," Hermione gasped loudly. "How could they have known? This isn't good, this is so not good. Now he's going to know where I am!"

Before Draco could say anything, the doors to the Hall burst open to reveal a very disheveled looking Ron Weasley. His blue eyes scanned the Hall and almost immediately found Hermione, who was staring back at him with a look of shock on her features. Ron took off at a run through the hall and up to the head table where he pulled Hermione from her seat and pulled her into a fierce bone-cracking embrace. As he pulled away, Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Ron beat her to it.

"Where have you been Hermione?" He practically screamed at her, his eyes blazing. "Do you know what I've gone through for the past two and a half months? I thought, we ALL thought that you were dead!"

Hermione once again opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Draco who had stood up and was now pulling Hermione to him and facing Ron.

"I think we should continue this conversation somewhere else." Draco said smoothly, knowing that Hermione would not want this confrontation to be seen by the entire student body of Hogwarts.

He was right too because every single student had stopped what they were doing and were now staring, dumbfounded, at the head table watching the two best friends. Before anyone could stop him, Ron grabbed Hermione's wrist and yanked her off the dais that held the table and through the Hall, the doors slamming into the wall and closed again as he pulled her through them and right out the front doors, into the Hogwarts grounds. Draco was following the pair closely behind, having asked Minerva if someone could please keep an eye on Alexis because she did not need to see the argument that was sure to happen between Ron and Hermione.

Slipping through the front doors, Draco immediately heard Ron's voice carrying itself through the air. Looking around, he saw the pair standing down near the Quidditch pitch, Hermione looking like she was crying and Ron standing over her, screaming at her like a child. He made his way towards them but stopped short, listening to Ron's words that were being carried through the air like he was yelling into a megaphone.

"Dammit Hermione! Don't you ever think of anyone else?" Ron yelled at her. "Do you know what the past months have done to me? Have done to Ginny and my mother! I thought that you were DEAD!"

"Ron please," Hermione interjected during his rant, her voice breaking as she shed tears. "I can explain everything! Just please listen!"

Finally Ron stopped his rant and looked at her, his eyes still ablaze with anger and the heartbreak evident on his features as well.

"I don't know how or why that lie about my death was put out there. I just only found out about itearliertoday." Hermione told him, trying to calm her voice as much as possible.

"What are you talking about? How could you not have known? It was almost THREE MONTHS AGO!" Ron hissed at her.

"I didn't know because I was being held captive!" Hermione snapped at him, beginning to get angry that he wasn't listening to her. "I should be asking why you never came to find me or why I was there for EIGHT months thinking that non of you gave a damn about me! And now you have the audacity to yell at me about what happened! HOW DARE YOU!"

Ron watched as Hermione's temper flared and her eyes began to flash red. Ron had only seen Hermione this upset once before and that was during the meeting just after Harry's death….actually this was worse--far worse. Draco watched from about ten yards away when he noticed that Hermione had a soft blue glow surrounding her. Having no idea what was happening, although he guessed that it may not be something good, Draco dashed forward to intervene.

As he approached, however, he watched as Hermione collapsed to the ground, the blue glow growing stronger as she began rocking back and forth, her emotions seeming to take over her. Ron backed away slowly as she collapsed, not knowing what was happening but not really wanting to take any chances.

Just as Draco was about to reach her, he was suddenly hurled backwards as he hit an invisible barrier. Ron watched Draco fly through the air a few feet and land with a hard THUD on his backside. As he recovered, he watched as the blue glow surrounding Hermione grew brighter and brighter till suddenly it simply disappeared as quickly as it appeared and Hermione was left sitting on her knees in the middle of the grass, her eyes closed and her breathing normal.

Glancing at Ron, who glanced at him as well, Draco got to his feet and cautiously rushed to Hermione's side along with Ron. He knelt down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders as Ron stood in front of her, watching with cautious interest.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked suddenly causing Draco to shoot him a look of disgust at his outburst. "What? It's a perfectly logical question, Malfoy."

Draco refused to answer Ron instead giving him another evil look as he focused back on Hermione and tried to help her to her feet. She stood up with his help but almost immediately collapsed again, only to be caught by Draco and hoisted into his arms. Hermione appeared to be completely weakened, almost as if she'd just run a hundred mile marathon AND fought through some Death Eaters. Draco pulled her up into his arms and darted to the castle with Ron trailing closely behind, still bewildered about the situation.

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An hour later, Draco sat by Hermione's bedside in the hospital wing after sending Ron to watch over Alexis (which Ron humbly agreed to given that he was Alex's godfather--a position Draco gave him because he knew that would be what Hermione would have wanted). Madame Pomphrey had run several tests on Hermione, who was currently unconscious, and discovered that she was radiating an immense amount of energy though she otherwise seemed perfectly fine and Pomphrey was at a loss as to exactly why she was currently in the state she was in.

Minerva had come in a couple of times to check up on her once favorite student, saying that she had notified the Order members as to what had happened and they were currently on their way to Hogwarts. Jeremy, Tonks, and Lupin had already arrived and were currently sifting through research trying desperately to uncover anything that might provide some light on to what was going on with the former Head Girl.

The hours seemed to tick by for Draco as he sat by his fiancé's bedside, simultaneously stroking her forehead and hair and holding her hand tightly. Ever since their conversation the evening before with Minerva and Dumbledore's portrait, he'd been thinking constantly about what they had been told.

**_FLASHBACK (The previous night, in Minerva's office)_**

"Oh dear." A sudden voice from behind Minerva sounded. Everyone in the room looked at the portrait of the former headmaster, almost forgetting that it was there.

"It appears that we may have a problem."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other nervously. It wasn't often that Dumbledore's portrait actually spoke up during any meetings in the Headmistress' office, though when he did, it was always something that was cause for attention.

"Albus, whatever do you mean?" Minerva asked the portrait, her concern evident on her aging features. "What sort of problem?"

"I was afraid that something like this might happen though I had hoped that it would somehow be avoided." Dumbledore answered.

"What do you mean, you were afraid it could happen?" Hermione asked, cutting in abruptly. "You mean you knew this was possible but you didn't inform us!"

"I apologize, Miss Granger, it appears that I have made a grave mistake on this assumption." Dumbledore's portrait replied gravely. "When I was informed of the connection between you and Mr. Malfoy, I was also informed of your heritage as well. It was at that time that my informant did issue a warning that I should've taken more seriously. Apparently, there are a couple ways for the connection to be lost between soul mates such as yourselves."

Soul mates? Hermione and Draco looked at each other, thinking the same thing. Well that explains a lot.

"The first way is if either party should perish, where as the connection itself would of course be lost though the surviving person would still feel as if they were missing apart of themselves. The second possibility is that if one party's powers increase dramatically and over-ride their normal abilities, it can cause the connection to be severed temporarily, as in your case. You see, when Hermione's powers kicked in, her descendent's powers not her magical ones, they over-rid the connection. Am I correct in assuming that you have not yet mastered your powers Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked confused. "Um exactly what powers are you talking about Albus? I haven't felt any new powers…well other than the time I wandlessly and wordlessly seemed to blast a heavy iron door off its hinges while I was being held at the Malfoy Manor last year. I'm still not entirely sure what happened. All I know is that I knew I needed to get out of there and next thing I knew the door was gone."

Albus' portrait nodded it's head. "Yes, those would be the powers of which I'm speaking. You see, my dear, the descendents in your bloodline have the ability to perform feats, such as blasting the door from it's hinges, that might otherwise be considered near impossible. You also have a very high power of emotions which, unless handled very cautiously, can cause great damage to those around you when you are emotional…especially when you are angry. Unfortunately these powers are not something that you can be taught how to harness, it is something that you will have to learn on your own. All I can offer is one piece of advice: be sure to keep a firm grasp on your emotions my dear, especially your anger. The rest will come in time."

The occupants of the room looked at one another. No one spoke for a few moments until Hermione spoke up again.

"Are there any other powers that I may have that could come in handy or that I do not know of yet?" Hermione asked.

"I am sure that there are, Miss Granger. I do know of one however, it appears that you may have some sort of power over time. I am unsure exactly what the nature of the power is but it could prove valuable." Dumbledore told her. Hermione took a moment to register everything that they had been told before speaking again quietly.

"Professor Dumbledore, please, is this something that we can overcome? I mean, can we get control over our connection back?" She asked timidly.

Dumbledore looked gravely at her. "I do not know, dear. Even my informant said that he was unsure of the repercussions of such an event and did not know if such a thing was ever able to overcome such a surge in power but I do hope the best for the two of you. You are very powerful, the both of you, and you are very lucky to have found one another. Do not let anyone or anything come between you because you are much stronger together than apart."

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Draco watched silently through the night as Hermione seemed to sleep on. It was in the early hours of the morning that he finally laid his head down beside her and drifted off into sleep, hoping for a day when they would finally be through all this and be able to live happily together again.


	7. The First Warning

**A/N: well here's the last chapter I have written so far. It hasnt been changed so those who kept up with the story before it was deleted and reposted have already read it. I promise to upload as soon as possible but it may be some time because I am going to be away from a computer for awhile.**

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**_Chapter Six: The First Warning_**

Hermione came to during the early morning, as the sunlight just began to seep through the windows in the hospital wing. She felt a warm, heavy feeling on her arm and jerked herself up just to realize that it was Draco laying asleep next to her bed, his head resting on her arm. The jerking awoke Draco as well who immediately engulfed her in a warm and tight embrace.

"Are you feeling alright Mia? Do you need anything? You hungry? I can get you some breakfast." Draco sputtered only to be cut off by Hermione's small giggle at Draco's overwhelming need to take care of her.

"Honey, I'm fine. Really." Hermione told him, smiling. She glanced around the room. "Where's Alex?"

"With her godfather." Draco replied. Hermione looked at him puzzled so he elaborated. "Ron." Hermione smiled.

An hour later the couple was leaving the hospital wing on their way towards their temporary rooms when Minerva came hustling around the corner and almost ran smack into them, almost knocking Hermione to the ground but luckily Draco caught her and kept her up on her feet. Minerva looked distraught.

"Oh thank goodness, I was just coming to see you." Minerva said quickly. "I'm afraid there's been an attack."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other nervously and followed hastily after Minerva who rushed off towards her office, motioning for them to follow. As the threesome rushed through the gargoyle portal and up into the Headmistress' office, they noticed that they were not the only ones there. Already present in her office were Lupin, Tonks, Jeremy Donavon, and Ron, who Hermione and Draco both immediately jumped on because he was supposed to be watching over Alexis.

"What are you doing here Weasley!" Draco practically yelled at the redhead. "Where is our daughter!"

"I assure you that Alexis is perfectly safe, Draco." Minerva interrupted. "She has been taken to Grimmauld Place where Bethany Monroe is watching over her. It is the safest place to be right now."

The couple calmed down a bit and took the spare seats that were located slightly off to the left of the Headmistress' desk. The others in the room looked apprehensive but Hermione noticed that Ron looked more unnerved than the others, but before she had a chance to ask Ron what was wrong, Minerva spoke up to fill the couple in on what was happening.

"Earlier today, we received notice that two young girls, who were both members of the Daughters of Osiris," Minerva began, causing Hermione to shoot Draco a look of confusion.

_How do they know about the Daughters?_ Hermione thought to herself but before she could voice her question, Minerva continued.

"Have been found dead just outside of the Monroe Mansion just outside of Salisbury. Twin cousins of former Hogwarts student Roger Davies…." Minerva continued but Hermione spaced out.

She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of nausea come over her at the words 'twins' and 'Davies'. Jessica and Jasmine were only 17 years old, barely of legal age in the wizarding world. Hermione felt her head begin to spin and the world became hazy. She was barely conscious to the fact that she had begun to sway in her seat as her dizziness overcame her until she found herself lying on the floor of Minerva's office, Draco kneeling beside her looking down at her worriedly. Hermione felt the back of her head where she realized she now had a growing lump (obviously from where she must have hit her head when she fainted) and tried to get back to her feet, Draco helping her immensely. Draco helped her back into her seat and the other occupants of the room looked to her to make sure she was alright before continuing with the discussion.

"As I was saying…Miss Granger, are you sure that you are alright?" Minerva began again looking concernedly at Hermione who was still looking a bit flushed. She simply nodded curtly.

Minerva continued. "The Order, along with the D.O., have decided to increase security and protection around Hermione and her family now because of a note left with the bodies of the young girls." She glanced at a bloody looking piece of parchment.

"_**This is your first warning**_." She read gravely. "**_Next time, it will be your family_**."

There was an audible gasp from the far corner where Tonks was standing beside Lupin. Hermione also paled immensely (which wasn't much considering she still hadn't fully recovered from her initial shock over the deaths of the twins). Draco saw her reaction and immediately pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Hermione nuzzled her face into his shoulder and willed the frightened tears that had begun to swell up behind her eyes to stay put.

She had had enough of this psycho analogical bull from Voldemort, that's all it was to him. He didn't care about his 'victims', to him they were only pawns in his great obsession to gain immortality. He expected Hermione to simply bow down and kiss his feet, give him whatever he wanted even after destroying her best friend and many of those whom she held so dear.

_Now I know how Harry felt…_Hermione thought to herself gravely.

She had to stop it, she had to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING. She had to get that book from him and hopefully in doing that it would finally stiffen his attempts at her and her now family. Taking a few deep breaths as she clutched to Draco, she determinedly set her resolve (well as best as she could given the situation) and sat up straight, turning her attention and focus towards the rest of the occupants of the room, who appeared to be almost as distraught and on-edge as she was.

"Ahem." She cleared her voice to obtain everyone's attention. They all looked at her with interest.

"I don't know about the rest of you," she began. "But I for one am growing increasingly sick and tired of all of Voldemort's games. That's all any of this is to him--a game for his own amusement. He needs to be stopped, once and for all. I don't want to hear about all this 'prophecy' crap either, he's a wizard. Albeit a powerful one, but he's not immortal--obviously or he wouldn't need me so badly. He can be dealt with and killed and I for one am growing wearisome sitting around and waiting for someone else to take care of it."

The occupants of the room all exchanged glances and one by one began nodding their heads in agreement, though still not quite sure where she was going with this discussion.

"We need to call a meeting," Hermione said sternly. "Now."

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Hermione stood in the doorway of her old room in Grimmauld Place a few hours later. Bethany had conjured up a make-shift nursery in the room while Alexis was there, since it was the safest place at the moment and the other Order members feared that it was not even safe to take the small child outside. It was a cool, crisp,January evening as Hermione watched her daughter playing on her tiny bed with an adorable doll that Draco had purchased for her.

Hermione couldn't believe how much time had passed and how much the beautiful little girl had grown up while she had been 'away'. It saddened her to know that she missed so much but she was here now and Hermione was bound and determined that she would never be away from her family again. Suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms slide around her waist and she leaned back against a strong frame.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" Draco asked from behind Hermione. She nodded solemnly.

"Are they ready downstairs?" Hermione asked quietly, not wanting to bother her daughter's happy playing.

"Yea, the rest of the members have just arrived. Remus told me to tell you they're ready whenever you are sweetheart." Draco responded, tightening his grip on her waist.

The couple turned their glance from their daughter and started to head down the stairs, their hands clasped together with an uneasy silence between them till Hermione spoke.

"She'll be safe right? I mean, she'll be taken care of if anything happens right?" Hermione whispered, stopping suddenly on the stairs. Draco stopped in front of her and turned around, pulling her close to him and looking into her eyes.

"Baby, nothing is going to happen. I swear to you that we will both be here with her, I will do everything in my power to make sure of it." Draco told her, seeing her fear in her honey-brown eyes. After a few moments, Hermione nodded and the couple kissed lovingly and continued down the stairs.

As they entered the dining room they found it surprisingly bare and continued into the larger living room which was packed almost full of Order members, almost more than Hermione could ever remember seeing…at least at one time. All the usual members were there, Ron, Neville, Moody, Tonks, Lupin of course, as well as Blaise Zabini and Jeremy Donavon. Viktor was there as well as were what seemed to be a couple other Bulgarians that Hermione figured had come with him.

As soon as Draco and Hermione entered the room, the room exploded in gasps and shocked voices from those who hadn't seen her or believed the news yet. Viktor looked like he had small tears in his dark brown eyes as he rushed to her and, ignoring Draco's obvious distaste, pulled Hermione from her fiancé and into an almost bone-crushing embrace.

"My gods, Mione." Viktor said very quietly into her hair so only she could hear him, since he had leaned down a bit to embrace her. "It felt like my heart was breaking when I heard you were dead. But here you are, back in my life once again."

Hermione was slightly stunned. Sure she had dated Viktor for awhile when he had come to Hogwarts during her fourth year and then into the summer but they had parted on good terms due to the distance between them, what with his traveling with his Quidditch team after he graduated and whatnot. But she had never heard such emotion from him during all the time they'd been close friends and she wasn't quite sure exactly what to make of it.

After Viktor finally released her, she glanced towards Draco wondering if he'd possibly heard what Viktor said to her and caught him glancing at the Bulgarian seeker with intense loathing, a look she hadn't seen since back in school before Draco had joined the Order and would look at Ron and Harry with the same look.

She didn't have time to ponder on it much though because as soon as Viktor had backed up a little she was immediately engulfed in hug after hug from shocked Order members who had grown to know her and love her over the years like a member of the family. Last but not least, was Bethany, who now stood in front of her with a strange look on her face. During the months Hermione had spent at Bethany's home with the other Daughters, she had come to love Bethany as a sister, almost as if she had her best friend back again.

Bethany's strange façade suddenly broke into a huge smile and tears began to leak silently from her emerald green eyes as she practically jumped on Hermione, knocking her off balance slightly, engulfing her in a tight hug.

Finally all the commotion died down when Remus cleared his throat. All the members began settling themselves down and Hermione was able to find a seat next to Remus (where I might add was always where Harry was seated during meetings) that he had been motioning for her to take. After a few more moments, the sound finally died completely down and Remus was able to begin talking.

"First of all, let me start by welcoming back Hermione Granger, who has survived a very long eight month captivity by Voldemort and his Death Eaters to be with us once again. It appears that the article that was posted in the Daily Prophet four months ago was a staged as a ploy from Voldemort and his Death Eaters to throw us off. All that matters right now, however, is that Hermione is here and that she is safe." Remus addressed the Order who erupted in applause, showing their happiness at having her back.

"Now we need to get down to business. I am sure you are all by now aware of the devastating news that two young members of the Daughters of Osiris, the group we have been working with for the past year, were found brutally murdered outside of their headquarters last night. Voldemort left a note saying that this was the first warning. We must act now, we must bring Voldemort down once and for all. This is where I bring up Hermione who has a plan that just might work." Remus continued, motioning to Hermione who slowly stood up and set her resolve façade to show that she was intensely serious.

All attention turned to Hermione once again and she cleared her throat nervously.

"Okay, as you all know, Voldemort's main objective is to gain immortality and at the present time it appears that I am the only one standing in his way of his goal. The deaths of Jessica and Jasmine Davies were a wake up call for me. This cannot go on, Voldemort must be stopped once and for all."

Acknowledging and agreeing murmurs sprouted up throughout the room.

"Now, I have a plan. It is going to be immensely dangerous and there's a great possibility that we may lose many more, but this is war. This is what we are going to do." Hermione paused and took a deep breath, looking around the room, her eyes landing on Draco.

"First step: I am going to go back to Voldemort--alone."


	8. Hermione's Plan

**A/N: well i promised i'd try to get this up as soon as possible and luckily it only took a week lol! Well anywya, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. i'm staying at my mom's for the weekend so i could have access to the computer and i'm going to try my hardest to finish another chapter tonight but it is 130am so i cant guarenttee but who knows---anyway, next chapter is gonna be a good one! FINALLY the moment i know you have all been waiting for--_THE WEDDING_! till then**

**Kai

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_Chapter 7: Hermione's Plan_**

Immediately the entire room erupted with commotion. There were angry shouts of "What!" mixed with "NO!" and other obscenities. Hermione tried to calm everyone down so she could continue her plan but no one was paying attention to her now, they were all too busy yelling about what she said.

Before she could get anyone's attention, however, a very strong hand grasped on to Hermione's arm and she was yanked through the crowd of members and into the adjoining room, the door slamming loudly behind her. The hands grasped her shoulders and shoved her into a nearby chair, then pulled another chair towards her. Draco was livid, and that seemed to be an understatement as he plopped himself down purposely in the chair in front of Hermione.

Stormy blue-grey eyes locked onto intense honey brown ones as the couple sat face to face, both fuming over what had just happened in the other room. Draco was pissed because he couldn't fathom while in the hell would Hermione try to go back to the serpent's lair by herself, let alone at all--ESPECIALLY since they had finally found each other after all this time. He was livid that she would potentially risk everything once again. Hermione on the other had was fuming for the simple fact that everyone jumped the gun and were refusing to allow her to finish telling them her plans.

"What in the bloody hell are you thinking Hermione!" Draco demanded as stared angrily into her own anger-filled eyes.

"What am I thinking? Well if the you all weren't so busy screaming at me, perhaps you'd be able to find out what I am thinking!" Hermione shot back at him.

"Well whatever it is can't be good if you are planning on doing it alone!" Draco bellowed, rising angrily from his seat and knocking it over from the force. "How could you even THINK that I'd let you do anything like this alone again? After everything that's happened?"

Hermione shot out of her seat and got right up in his face. "Well if you'd all shut up for five bloody seconds you'd find out that I wasn't planning to do it alone!"

Draco opened his mouth to retort but was awestruck momentarily at her last comment. Instead he closed his mouth slowly and just stared at her for a few uneasy moments. After he processed her comment, he finally opened his mouth to speak again.

"What do you mean you aren't planning to do it alone?" Draco asked uncertainly. "Didn't you just say that you were going in alone?"

Hermione rolled her eyes a bit and grabbed his shirt, pulling him in for a quick chaste kiss. "Yes, I did."

Before Draco could ask another question, now that he was thoroughly confused, Hermione had already pulled him back into the living room where the rest of the Order members were still confusedly bickering about Hermione's unfinished plan. Pushing Draco lovingly into the chair beside her own, Hermione climbed up on her own chair and, sticking her pinky fingers into the corners of her mouth, whistled for the room's attention which was almost immediately given to her.

"Alright!" Hermione said, her voice loud. "Now, if you are through berating me and my plan that, by the way, I didn't even finish telling you all, I'll continue." She glanced around the room, almost challenging anyone to say a word. When no one appeared to want to speak, she stepped off her chair and continued her speech.

"As I was saying, the first step is for me to return to Voldemort alone. This will allow me better access to Voldemort himself as well as the Book. When I am in close enough position, I will send a signal to Draco who will signal the first group of members to join me. Sort of an unexpected ambush if you please. After the rest of you arrive and are distracting the Death Eaters, I am going to take hold of the Book and apparate to Hogwarts.

"Hopefully, Voldemort will notice this and follow me there. I am going to lure Voldemort to the Harry's tomb and send another signal to Draco who, along with the second group who will be waiting at Hogwarts, will come to aid me there. I am not going to go into much more detail about exactly what I plan on doing with Voldemort but I will tell you that if my previous research is correct and I do believe it is, than this will finally be the end of Voldemort."

Hermione smiled proudly at the group who erupted once again into murmurs as everyone digested and discussed Hermione's plan. They all knew of course that this Book that seemed to be Voldemort's main objective over the last couple years was something that only Hermione could deal with. After another hour of deliberating and discussions, the Order and Daughter's members finally agreed that it appeared to be the best course of action. All members present were going to be involved and the two groups were formed by Hermione herself, placing all those whom she was closest to and trusted the most into her group that would be awaiting her signal at Hogwarts because she knew that with Voldemort there, she would need the best back up she could have.

After the members dispersed for the evening and the plans were laid to take place in five days from that night, Draco and Hermione departed to the room adjoined to the makeshift nursery that Bethany had so kindly set up for Alexis. They stopped in and kissed their sleeping daughter briefly before retiring to their own room and practically collapsing in each other's arms on their bed, not even bothering to undress. They simply lay there, staring up at the ceiling, their arms wrapped tightly around each other for what seemed like an eternity before Draco finally spoke, breaking the almost uncomfortable silence.

"I am so glad we've found each other again, Mia." Draco whispered into her hair as they laid in each other's arms.

Hermione sighed contently, finally feeling at home again, but still unable to shake the tremendous knots in her stomach about what was to happen in five short days. What if one of them really did die this time? What if everything went terribly wrong and Voldemort ended up immortal? There were just so many fears plaguing her mind, not to mention the one thing that she was planning to do with Voldemort that she did not mention at the meeting, nor had she mentioned it to anyone ever. What would everyone say if they knew that she was planning to trade Voldemort for Harry? If her research had been correct during those couple of years before the kidnapping when she was researching the Book along with other Egyptian stuff, then there was an incantation held within the Book that would allow the current owner (that would be Hermione) of said Book to trade one life force for another. She just prayed to the gods that it would work.

Rolling over in Draco's arms, she looked deep into his piercing ice blue eyes that she had dreamed about every night of those eight long months. She reached her hand up and gently caressed the side of his pale, flawless, face, almost to make sure that this really was real. For months she had hoped and prayed and dreamed every night for this exact moment, when she was in his arms once again, and now it was finally here and she never ever wanted it to end. Draco leaned towards her and locked her lips in a passion filled kiss. They broke away moments later, both gasping for breath.

"Mia?" Draco asked a few minutes later. Hermione broke herself from her thoughts and looked back into his eyes. "I don't want to wait any more."

Hermione looked at him curiously for a moment. "Don't want to wait any more for what exactly?" She was hoping that he was thinking what she had been but she wanted to be sure.

"Lets get married." Draco said easily. "Before the battle. Say two days from now. I cant wait any longer to finally make you my wife." He looked into her eyes hopefully.

Hermione's eyes lit up excitedly. A smile began to form on her lips and it quickly spread into a full on ecstatic grin. Her eyes twinkled as she nodded her head enthusiastically. This was finally it, they were finally going to get married! She felt like she had been waiting a lifetime for this and now it was finally going to happen. She grabbed the back of his head and entangled her fingers lovingly in his blonde locks, pulling him to her and kissing him passionately.

The couple almost immediately melted together in a passionate entanglement of limbs, exchanging heated kisses and loving nibbles all over each other's bodies, tearing each other's clothing off in a heated rush. Before Draco realized it, they both lie naked on the bed, Draco's heated body lying half on top of hers, his hands exploring her body as if it were a completely new experience. The moonlight filtered through the window casting an almost angelic-like glow over the two. It was the first time since they'd been reunited that Draco had taken the time to allow his eyes to wander over her beautiful curves, the ones underneath the clothes that is, and he was shocked and at a loss all at the same time. At a loss because she was still just as gorgeous in his mind as the first time they had made love two long years ago. She was slightly thinner than before however and you could see the edges of the stiff bones of her hips and the slight outline of her ribs but he realized that was from being locked up in that dungeon for eight long months. Draco also passed over a few new scars that were aligned over her slender frame as well as the fading remembrances of dark bruises--he knew what those were from as well and it pained him to think about it but it didn't change the fact that he didn't care what she looked like. Draco was head over heels in love with Hermione and the time apart seemed to strengthen the love he felt for her, if that was even possible.

The couple made sensual love to each other that night, wrapped in their own world of love where nothing and no one else in the entire world mattered. All that mattered to Draco and Hermione during that time was each other and the love the felt pulsating between them. It was as if the past eight long months had never occurred and they had never been separated. Their bodies were completely in sync with each other that night. True they had made love the other night at Hogwarts when they had gone to talk to Minerva but somehow this night felt much more real--deeper and more passionate. Perhaps it was that the other night was almost a refresher course, as if their bodies just needed each other for the moment to remember what the other felt like. But this night, this night was different. This night was just as passionate and sensual as the first time they'd made love those long years ago in Draco's Head Boy dormitory at Hogwarts. They fell asleep that night, completely spent and utterly numb, fully content to just hold each other tightly through the night.

When Hermione awoke the next morning to Alexis' morning cry, she immediately jumped from the bed noticing that Draco was already making his way through to the adjourning room. She rushed to him before he could completely cross the threshold and stopped him by lightly grabbing his arm. Draco groggily turned to face her, smiling sleepily.

"Can…can I?" Hermione asked timidly, not wanting to interfere in her family's normal morning ritual but anxiously wanting to finally get a chance to be the mother she had always hoped to be.

Draco smiled even wider and kissed her lovingly on the forehead before stepping aside to allow his (finally!) wife-to-be to gain access to their daughter's crib. Draco stood back by the doorway whispering sweet encouragements to Hermione as she slowly and cautiously made her way across the small room to Alexis' crib where the darling little dirty blonde was standing up and holding on to the side rail, small tears sliding down her angelic cheeks.

_Poor thing_, Hermione thought to herself as she approached her daughter really for the first real time in her mind. _She's probably scared and confused, waking up in two different strange places two days in a row._

When she reached the crib, she looked down on her darling daughter who returned her gaze with enormous blue-green eyes the color of the deepest parts of the ocean. Her tiny bottom lip trembled slightly and Hermione reached her arms slowly towards the girl, not wanting to startle her since, not only had Alexis only seen Hermione for the past few days (of course she didn't remember when she was only a couple months old when Hermione disappeared) but this was the first time that Hermione was reaching for her when she awoke instead of her father. Hermione could tell that Alexis was trying to read her, to check that it was alright to go to her, when suddenly, Alexis' eyes seemed to begin to glow slightly and a small smile began to grow on her tiny lips. Hermione felt her eyes swell up slightly with tears when the young girl smiled up at her and reached her arms up to meet Hermione's, allowing Hermione to lift her from her crib and hold her closely.

Hermione held her daughter tightly then, whispering her love in the young child's ear and felt the tiny arms tighten around her neck. This was the first time since she'd found them that she finally felt at home and it was the happiest feeling in the entire world. She had been so terrified that Alexis wouldn't remember her or would completely be frightened of this 'new' person entering her life but it seemed as if the world was right--a child always knows who their mother is. Hermione wasn't sure exactly how long she had stood there, simply holding the girl and swaying gently back and forth, telling alexis how much she loved her, when she felt a strong arm slide itself around the side of her thin waist. She glanced up over her shoulder where alexis' head was and saw Draco tenderly caressing the soft golden blonde curls on their daughter's head and kissing her forehead softly before kissing Hermione's as well.

After readying Alexis and themselves for the day and having breakfast, Hermione immediately set to work sending out numerous owls to announce to everyone that she and Draco were getting married the following day. They had decided that they were going to just have a small ceremony with the other members of the Order and the Daughters and have Minerva preside over it for now. All that mattered to the couple at this time was that they were no longer going to wait, they were finally going to be husband and wife. Hermione had said that was all she needed but Draco had insisted that this was only for now--after Voldemort was defeated and this whole stupid mess was finally behind them all, he would make sure that Hermione had the wedding of her dreams.

The day went by pretty uneventful, aside from a visit from Ginny and Ron as well as Bethany who were just beyond words at the fact that the infamous couple was FINALLY going to become official. Ron was going to act as Draco's best man and Ginny, of course, would be Hermione's maid of honor. Minerva had sent response stating that she would be honored to preside over their vows and would see them the following afternoon. It felt like their lives were finally starting to fall into place where they should have been a long time before. All that was left now was for Hermione's plan to work but at this moment in time, no one was really thinking about it.

No one, that is, except for Hermione. Even though she kept her happy façade on the entire day as she talked to her family and friends about how excited and happy they finally were, deep down she was terrified about the upcoming battle that would ensue in only four short days time. What would happen with Voldemort was making her increasingly nervous but even more so was the prospect of her secret agenda during that fight--exchanging Voldemort's soul for Harry's and returning her best friend to her side once more, thus fulfilling at least one part of the prophecy that had practically sealed her best friend's fate nineteen years before…..

_Neither can live while the other survives…._

And Hermione was determined to ensure that it would be Harry who ultimately survived this war.


	9. The Malfoy Wedding Part One

_**Chapter Eight: Is It Time YET? (The Malfoy Wedding Part One)**_

" 'Mione!" A voice echoed through Hermione's sleep. "Hermione Granger, wake up! It's your wedding day!"

Hermione opened her eyes and immediately squinted in the harsh sunlight that was flooding her room. She blinked several times and a pair of hazel eyes came into focus staring back at her, surrounded by lots of bright red hair. It took Hermione a moment to register but then she remembered that Ginny had stayed over at Grimmauld Place to help her get ready today-- her wedding day. The realization suddenly struck Hermione and she bolted up in the bed so rapidly that she almost knocked right into Ginny.

"Oh my gods!" Hermione shrieked, suddenly completely awake.

"Calm down, 'Mione." Ginny giggled from beside the bed as she watched her best friend awaken in a panicked state that just screamed 'Hermione Granger'. "Everything is taken care of. Bethany is taking care of Alex, Ron is keeping Draco from tearing his hair out from impatient ness and some of the others are already out back putting the final touches on the backyard."

Hermione's heartbeat finally relaxed and she stopped panicking as Ginny relayed the going-ons. She allowed her excitement to come to the surface as Mrs. Weasley burst into the room, along with Bethany (who was carrying Alexis and laid her down on the bed with her mother) and Tonks. Molly was carrying a brand new looking gown in her arms that she immediately laid on the desk's chair and rushed to Hermione, pulling the girl into a warm and loving, motherly-like embrace.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley." Hermione choked out as Molly released the grip on her.

The release was short lived, however, because no soon did Molly release her then she bombarded by two other pairs of arms. When the arms finally released their hold on her, Hermione found herself staring back at Tonks (who was sporting dark blonde curls for the occasion) and Harry's sister. Both were smiling brightly at the bride-to-be who was still under her comforter on her bed while everyone else seemed to join her there. Finally, after about five minutes of everyone staring at each other and smiling, Molly broke the silence.

"Well, come on dears," she said brightly. "Lets get to work."

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Downstairs in the dining room, Ron and Jeremy were desperately trying to keep Draco from running up the stairs and dragging Hermione off somewhere to simply elope. Neither guy had ever seen someone so impatient before-- unless that person was a little child which was exactly how Draco was acting this morning.

"Is it time YET?" Draco growled impatiently as he sat at the dining room table, a bottle of butterbeer in his hands.

"No, Malfoy." Ron replied teasingly. "It's not time yet."

Ron and Jeremy exchanged humor-filled looks as they listened to Draco's impatient, childish, whines. The blonde-haired boy had been whining like a little child for the past hour. The other boys found it rather humorous watching the normally collected young man throw his tiny temper tantrums as he waited for it to finally be time to marry his love. The three boys had been dressed in their black, silver, and deep green suits for over an hour now and had simply been sipping butterbeers in the kitchen/dining room since then, waiting for Mrs. Weasley to let them know that Hermione was ready.

The backdoor suddenly opened to reveal a couple older witches (members of the D.O.) who had been working on the backyard for the last three hours. Draco and the others immediately turned towards the women.

"Well, the backyard is finally finished." One of the women announced matter-of-factly. "We think that everything looks exactly how Miss Granger would have wanted it to."

Draco practically slammed his empty butterbeer bottle onto the table enthusiastically.

"It's about bloody time!" Draco exclaimed, rising from his chair. "Now we can FINALLY get this show on the road!"

Ron laughed boastfully at Draco's impatient enthusiasm as the older witches left the room looking at the blonde boy curiously. Draco glared at the red head for laughing at him.

"Malfoy," Ron said between laughs. "We're still waiting on 'Mione remember?"

Draco slung himself exasperatedly back into his chair, his blonde hair falling over the back of the chair causing Ron and Jeremy to burst into another laughter fit.

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Back upstairs, Ginny and Bethany had just finished putting the final touches on their own gowns. Ginny was wearing a deep hunter green, satin gown while Bethany's was black. Both were off the shoulder with crushed velvet bodices and flowing skirts that swept to the floor and gave a short train behind their feet. Ginny's long red hair was left down and accentuated in delicate soft waves. Bethany's raven hair on the other hand was swept in to a simple up do with a single, small, silver colored rose bud tucked into her hair behind her ear.

As Ginny was doing Hermione's hair, Hermione's mind began to wander away from her wedding day preparations to the events that were planned for the upcoming days. If everything went according to the way she had hoped her plan would work, she would be seeing her best friend again. Her eyes traveled to Bethany and she smiled. Hermione could not wait to reunite brother and sister for the first time in many, many, long years--- she just hoped that everything went correctly.

" 'Mione. 'Mione, you're done girl." Ginny said, startling Hermione from her thoughts.

Hermione turned to face the mirror behind her and she smiled at her reflection. Ginny had done a wonderful job. Her golden-brown locks were set in soft spiraling curls that cascaded elegantly to the middle of her back. Tiny diamond pins were holding a small portion of the hair at her forehead back away from her face. More diamond pins were scattered throughout her curls giving her hair a beautiful sparkle to it.

Bethany had done Hermione's make-up for her and even Hermione had to admit that she looked beautiful. Her soft honey-colored eyes were shadowed by a shimmery combination of iridescent, copper and a shimmery taupe that blended up to her brow line, accentuating her eye color. Topped off with muted, golden-brown liner and a glittery-like brown mascara, her honey eyes twinkled and the tiny flex's of gold in them shined brightly. Hermione's lips were painted a warm rose color giving her an overall glowing tone.

It was finally time to step into her gown. Hermione's nerves began to surface as mrs. Weasley unzipped the clear garment bag that was protecting it and pulled out the gown that she had been magically preparing for the past two days. Hermione's hands began shaking as Molly and Tonks helped her climb cautiously into her gown. As Hermione turned around and saw her refection once again in the full length mirror on the room's wall, her eyes immediately began to tear up slightly but she forced herself to hold the tears at bay because she did not want to ruin the beautiful make-up job that Bethany had given her. The others, however, seemed to be crying enough for her. Especially Mrs. Weasley who was practically bawling up a river as she gazed at Hermione as if she were her own daughter.

"Well, I suppose it's about that time." Hermione said quietly, her eyes still focused on her mirrored image, a small bright smile beginning to plaster itself to her lips.

Ginny, Bethany, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks (along with Alex who was now passed out on the bed), left the room after each giving Hermione a good luck hug. Ginny, Bethany and Mrs. Weasley headed down the stairs to inform the men and the other guests that it was finally time to file into the backyard while Tonks headed up another flight of stairs to the make-shift nursery to lay Alex in her crib. She set the enchanted baby monitor so that she could hear if Alex woke up and turned to join the others outside.


	10. The Malfoy Wedding Part Two

**A/N: hello there again, I hope everyone is enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. Here is part 2 of the wedding that I know you all have been waiting 3 long stories for lol. I hope you all like it! The next chapter will be getting into the start of the final battle but that doesnt mean it's the start of the end just yet! I am probably safely going to say that this is prolly about halfway through the story which means that after four long months, I'm in the home stretch and this wonderful series of mine is almost finished!

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_Chapter Nine: I Do…Finally! The Malfoy Wedding Part Two_**

The guests (all Order and D.O. members) were finally starting to file into place in the backyard, taking their seats and talking quietly amongst each other. Draco had made his way up to the front of the yard by the alter where Minerva McGonagall was waiting patiently. He was beginning to tremble now from sheer excitement; he was finally marry Hermione Granger, the woman he had been head over heels in love with since the summer before seventh year. The woman who he had thought to be dead and gone from his life forever until just a few short weeks earlier would finally be walking down that aisle towards where he was in just a few short moments time.

Upstairs, Ginny and the others had just left to head downstairs, leaving Hermione to collect her thoughts privately for a few moments. She had just begun to put on her jewelry that she was wearing for the occasion (the diamond heart pendant that Draco had given her for their six month anniversary and a pair of diamond and emerald dangling heart earrings that Bethany had loaned her, along with the diamond, emerald, and ruby bracelet that Draco had given her for her 19th birthday that matched her engagement ring which was still in place on her ring finger where it belonged) when she heard a knock at the door to the bedroom.

"Come in!" Hermione called through the door, not taking her focus off of the bracelet she was attaching to her wrist.

The door creaked open slowly and closed again with a soft click. Hermione finished clasping the bracelet and had just clasped her hand on her necklace that she was about to put on when she was startled by a voice she had only really heard once before, many years earlier at the Quidditch World Cup she had attended with the Weasleys and Harry the summer before fourth year.

"My goodness," the airy female voice sounded behind Hermione. "You truly are a beautiful sight."

Hermione whipped around in her chair quickly and came face to face with one of the last people she had ever expected to see, especially sitting in the same room as her while she was preparing for her wedding.

"Mrs. … Malfoy?" Hermione gasped out in shock. "What…I mean…well yes, what are you…"

"Please my dear," Narcissa Malfoy said politely with a small airy laugh. "Call me Narcissa. After all, it appears we are about to become family."

Narcissa sat down gracefully on the edge of the bed in the room near Hermione. Hermione stared at her soon to be mother-in-law, her necklace clasped in her hand, unsure of exactly what was going on at the moment.

"Err, yes, I suppose we are…Narcissa." Hermione replied hesitantly, still in a bit of shock. "I'm sorry if I seem rude, but seriously, what exactly are you doing here?"

Narcissa chuckled lightly again. "Oh dear, not at all. In fact please forgive me. I had forgotten that Remus had not gotten a chance to inform you and of course, Draco has been overwhelmed over the past couple weeks since your return. During the assignment you all had back during your seventh year that took you to the Department of Mysteries, the Dark Lord found that Draco was in fact working for the Order and my life, as well as his own, were put into a large amount of danger. Voldemort had already threatened Draco and I once before almost four years ago after Lucius was arrested and sent to Azkaban and Draco was forced into Voldemort's ranks. Remus learned of this and came to visit the manor to offer the Order's protection. The catch was that I had to remain under the Fidelius charm in an unknown location for a long period of time."

Narcissa paused for a moment, a look of sorrow on her pale features. "It was only within the last few months that Remus informed Draco of my whereabouts. I had been kept up to date on his life though and I can honestly say that I am overjoyed that he was able to find someone to love. But please child, do not worry for I am nothing like my husband. That whole blood purity thing was not something I believe in at all. I am just glad that Draco was able to find someone to love who loved him back just as much, it's all I've ever hoped for for my only son."

Hermione stared at Narcissa. She was shocked to hear the woman speak so pleasantly and even more shocked that she was completely accepting of the fact that Hermione was not a pureblooded witch. Hermione's tension that had swelled the moment she heard Narcissa's voice was completely gone now and replaced by compassion and even admiration for the woman for everything she must have endured through the past years that she had been with Lucius.

After she finished speaking, Narcissa rose from her seat on the bed and crossed to where Hermione was sitting at the vanity. She took the delicate necklace from Hermione's hand and motioned for the young woman to turn around.

"I wish I had gotten the pleasure to meet you earlier, Hermione. Everything that Draco has said about you has clearly not done you complete justice." Narcissa told her as she clasped the necklace around Hermione's neck. "It is nice to finally meet the girl who changed my son's life."

Hermione eyed Narcissa for a moment. "Well thank you Narcissa but Draco didn't change for me. He changed for himself."

Before Narcissa could respond however, another knock came on the door and Remus stuck his head through to let Hermione know that it was time for her to come downstairs.

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Finally all the guests were seated in the backyard, including Narcissa who gave Hermione a tight embrace before being led to her seat in the front row beside the rest of the Weasleys. Hermione and the rest of the small wedding party were now standing just beside the double doors leading to the backyard. The music (which was an enchanted wireless) began playing a soft but upbeat melody and the double doors opened. Hermione peaked a look into the backyard as Bethany and Jeremy (Hermione's bridesmaid and Draco's groomsman) made their way down the aisle to the front of the chairs and gasped in awe at the beautiful job the women had done.

They had charmed the backyard to feel warm because it was after all late January and otherwise everyone would probably freeze to death. The trees were filled with soft twinkling fairy lights and there were garlands of ivy and red roses laced up the aisle. The alter was surrounded by a beautiful, simple white silver archway and adorned with more ivy, roses and golden ribbons. It was very simple but elegant and Hermione loved it.

She ducked back away from the edge of the doorway as Ron and Ginny made their turn down the aisle. As soon as they reached their positions at the front of the yard, the music suddenly changed and Hermione found herself with butterflies in her stomach and her hands shaking as she realized that it was now her turn. Remus, who had volunteered to walk Hermione down the aisle, took hold of her arm and laced it through his own. He patted her hand fatherly-like and gave her an approving smile to help ease her nervousness. But nothing mattered to Hermione anymore as soon as they stepped into the threshold of the doorway and she finally locked eyes with Draco for what felt like the first time.

Draco felt the world disappear around him as the music changed and he looked up to see the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen standing in the doorway, staring right back at him. His heart fluttered as their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity and she gave him a small but happy smile. Draco thought that Hermione seemed to be surrounded in a sparkling glow as the sunlight glistened off her. She was shrouded in a delicate, flowing gown that was made from the finest opaque, crème colored silk that money could buy (I guess sometimes it helps to be in love with one of the wealthiest guys in the country) and it seemed to hang off of every curve of her slender frame so perfectly. Thin straps of pale gold silk hung delicately from her smooth shoulders holding up a tight bodice that wrapped around her bust area. From there, the gown flowed freely and gracefully to the floor and into a short train that followed her gracefully. The gown itself was covered in tiny, delicately detailed red rosebuds and it made Hermione look like an angel who had just graced his presence from heaven itself. The back was completely open and only held together by tiny laces that came to an elegant knot just about her tailbone, accentuating her flawless back.

"My angel…." Draco muttered ecstatically to himself as he watched Hermione walk slowly and gracefully up the aisle towards him, carrying a small bouquet of red and silver rosebuds interlaced with ivy and golden ribbons.

Draco felt a strong hand on his shoulder as he watched his love, ripping him from his thoughts. He twisted his head slightly to the side to see Ron smiling as he watched Hermione as well. Draco turned his attention back to the angel walking towards him and heard Ron whisper brotherly to him.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" Ron asked and Draco nodded his head, never tearing his eyes away from Hermione who was almost to him. "I know that I've said it before but she's my best friend so I'll say it again. Malfoy, so help me gods, if you ever hurt her in any way, I swear on my soul that I'll kill you."

"Don't worry Weasley." Draco whispered back to the redhead. "I could never hurt that angel."

Ron's hand removed itself from Draco's shoulder as Hermione finally reached where they were standing in front of Minerva. Remus stopped and gave Hermione a warm fatherly hug and shook Draco's hand strongly before kissing Hermione's cheek and taking a seat beside Narcissa, who had small tears already leaking down her pale cheeks. Hermione looked up at Draco and they locked eyes, both smiling ecstatically as Draco took Hermione's hand in his own.

"You look so beautiful, Mia." Draco told her softly as he stared into her bright honey colored eyes.

The couple turned towards Minerva who smiled at them both warmly and began to address everyone.

"Beloved friends and family," the elderly witch began. "It is a great honor and blessed occasion that we are all here today to see the magical union of these two souls. These two have fought through many terrible obstacles and have survived them all only to have their love grow stronger with every passing day. They have both grown in many ways and I am truly honored to be allowed to join them in the bonds of this blessed union and see them into their future together."

Draco and Hermione exchanged a quick glance at each other and smiled lovingly, Draco grasping Hermione's hand a little tighter. Minerva continued through the ceremony and then asked that the couple face each other and join their left hands. Draco and Hermione did as was asked and Minerva pulled out a long white ribbon and stepped around the alter to stand in front of the loving couple and asked them to recite their vows.

"While I cannot say that I have loved you from the moment we met, I can say completely honestly now that I love you with every breath that is in my being." Draco said as he gazed into Hermione's eyes. "We have triumphed through many obstacles but the one thing that has never changed from the moment I first kissed you in this very house the summer before our final year at Hogwarts is my love for you Hermione. You have given me the strength I needed to stand up against those who I was raised to follow and become my own person. You have shown me what it is like to truly be loved unconditionally no matter what may have happened between us in our past and for that, Hermione my love, I thank you every day and I pledge to love you more with every passing moment until the day our souls are taken from this earth and I vow to you to protect you with every fiber of my being. I love you, Hermione Granger, and nothing or no one will ever change that. You have shown me where I truly belong."

Hermione felt her eyes swell up and release the tears that she had been holding back since the moment she looked at herself in the mirror in the room upstairs that morning. She smiled lovingly at Draco and gazed into his icy blue eyes to see that they too were starting to brim with unshed tears. She reached up her right hand and caressed his cheek lovingly and took a deep breath before stating her vows.

"Draco, you and I have not always seen eye to eye. We have fought and fought with each other almost since the first moment we met those many years ago. I must admit that when you first came back and were asking for help, I was skeptical as to your true purpose. But as I put down my walls and finally got to know you, I found myself falling in love with the man that you had become. There were times in the beginning that I was confused about my feelings but you stayed true and allowed me to sort things out and for that I thank you because without that time, I may never have truly realized what was standing right in front of me. I give you my heart, my body, and my soul from now till eternity and I swear that no one nor anything will ever make me question my love for you. I know now where I truly belong and that is right here, with you, forever. You are my one true love, my soul mate, Draco Malfoy, and without you, I would be lost."

There were quiet sobs heard throughout the backyard as Hermione finished her vows and Draco, who was now crying himself, reached up and wiped a stray tear from Hermione's cheek. Even Minerva, the usually collected and stern woman, could not contain the couple of silent tears that fell from her eyes. After a few almost silent moments (silent aside from the occasional sigh or sob emitting from the audience) Minerva collected herself and continued on. She reached out and began loosely wrapping the ribbon around the couple's joined hands and then placed her hands atop of them.

"Here before witnesses, and have sworn vows to each other. With this cord, I bind them to the vows that they each have made. However this binding is not tied, so that neither is restricted by the other, and the binding is only enforced by both their wills. This ribbon is magically binding these two souls together from now till death takes them from each other. Never shall anyone be able to break this powerful bound that the two have. It will stand strong against all that opposes it. Now, Draco, Hermione, please repeat after me."

The couple nodded, never breaking their eye contact as they repeated the words their former headmistress recited, as Minerva took out her wand and placed the tip of it on their joined hands.

"Heart to thee…" Minerva said.

"Heart to thee…" They repeated in unison.

"Soul to thee…"

"Soul to thee…"

"Body to thee…"

"Body to thee…"

"Forever and always…"

"Forever and always…"

"So shall it be."

"So shall it be." They finished, both fighting back the tears that were falling and smiling at each other with loving affection.

Minerva tapped her wand twice and the ribbon magically vanished. They finished the ceremony, exchanging their wedding rings (two serpents, one gold and one platinum, twisted together with their heads lying aside each other…..they were Malfoy family wedding bands.) The ceremony concluded with a passionate kiss between the two lovers as everyone in audience stood and clapped for the happy couple. Narcissa was a puddle of tears as she watched her baby boy marry his true love. Ginny and Bethany were crying almost hysterically, wiping their eyes on silk handkerchiefs, and even Ron was tearing up a little at the sight of his best friend getting married.

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Later that night after a short reception with some of the Order and D.O. members who had stayed on after the ceremony, Ginny and Bethany retreated with Ron to the Burrow taking Alexis with them so that the newlyweds could have some private time in light of the upcoming battles that were scheduled to take place in only two short days time. Hermione and Draco said goodbye to the final guest and began to make their way upstairs to their room. Before they could start up the stairs, however, Draco surprised Hermione by sweeping her off her feet-- literally-- and carrying her in his arms up the stairs to the room.

Draco laid her lovingly on their bed after kicking the door shut behind them and laid down beside her, covering her lips with tender kisses.

"I love you, Mrs. Malfoy." He said sweetly, kissing her lips tenderly.

"I love you too, Draco, more than you will ever know." Hermione responded and pulled his face back to hers, locking him in a deep and passionate kiss.

The newly married couple began shedding each other's clothes from their bodies as they kissed everywhere they could. It was as if they were together for the first time. Every touch was electric and every kiss set each other on fire. Hermione pulled off Draco's jacket as he unbuttoned his shirt and within seconds both items were thrown to the floor. She pulled at his pants, tugging the zipper down and pushing them off his hips as she kissed his chest heatedly, as if she would burn alive if she didn't have him all soon. Very quickly, Draco was pushing his shoes and socks off and sliding off the bed, letting his pants fall to the floor leaving him in only his black silk boxers, Hermione staring at him hungrily, a heated passionate fire burning in her eyes. Draco pulled her off the bed with him and kissed her so passionately and heatedly, Hermione almost orgasmed from the sheer sensation of his tongue against her own.

Draco broke from her mouth and began trailing a line of kisses down her jawbone to her neck and collarbone and his hands slid themselves behind her back and began to slowly untying and loosening her gown. After it was fully untied and loosened enough, he wrapped one arm around her waist tightly, his hand resting on her lower back and the other slid one of the straps from her shoulder and replaced it with his lips, kissing it tenderly. Hermione's hands found their way up his shoulders and into his pale blonde locks, gripping them tightly as she leaned her head back in ecstasy at the feeling of his lips on her skin. She was so inticed by the sensation that she barely registered her gown sliding from her slender frame and pooling at her feet. Realizing this, Hermione kicked off her heels and stepped out of the gown, kneeling on the bed and pulling Draco towards her.

Draco hungrily obeyed and began to devour Hermione's mouth with his own again as the two leaned backwards to fall on to the bed, Draco over Hermione, his hands caressing her skin up and down the length of her body. Hermione's leg found it's way up his and locked itself behind his rear, pulling him into her body so closely that she could feel his hardness against her and it made her ache for him. Their tongues battled for dominance as their hands roamed each other's bodies, barely registering the fact that they were pulling each other's undergarments from each other's bodies as they embraced.

Before long, both were lying entangled under the new green and gold silk sheets that Bethany had bought for them and placed on their bed during the reception as a wedding gift. Their bodies were already glistening with each other's sweat but at this moment in time, nothing mattered to either of them except for the person who they were with. They finally broke away from each other for a moment and laid staring into each other's eyes, both feeling like somehow it was like looking into the other's eyes for the very first time. And in a way it was for now they were no longer just dating, or engaged but a fully married couple…..something that had taken way too long to happen and both were in heaven at the fact that it finally had.

"I love you Draco Malfoy." Hermione said softly, staring once again into his icy blue eyes that were filled with passion and love for only her.

"I love you too, Hermione Malfoy." Draco responded, sharing her gaze. "And I promise I will love you forever."

The two locked lips again as their bodies were joined, consummating the marriage that was heaven sent. They made love long through the night, reaching climax after climax together, grasping and feeling everything that the other had to offer as if it was their last night on earth. They moved together time and time again in perfect sync as if their bodies were truly made for each other. The newly wed couple finally drifted off to sleep as the dawning sun began to peak over the horizon, both completely and utterly spent and wholly content wound tightly in each other's arms. As the sun peaked through the light weight curtains in the room, it glistened lightly off the sleeping couple and reflected it's glow in the matching rings that were now glowing a bright green-- an unknown magic in the rings that glowed to show true love.


	11. A Secret Revealed

_**Chapter 10: A Secret Revealed**_

It was one o'clock the afternoon after the wedding when Draco was awoken by a loud tapping on the window. He opened his eyes wearily and saw Hedwig tapping impatiently on the window pane. Moving his arm gently and slowly from beneath his sleeping wife, Draco slid very quietly from beneath the blankets and off of the bed. Grabbing his robe to cover his still naked body, he through it on and went to the window, opening it to let Hedwig in before the snowy owl tapped a hole straight through the glass.

The beautiful snowy owl immediately flew in and landed on the dresser and Draco walked over to it. Hedwig held out her leg expertly to Draco and Draco took the attached note, immediately recognizing the handwriting--it was Ron's. Draco conjured up a small bowl of water and owl treats for Hedwig and turned to read Ron's note.

'_What would Ron be owling about today?_' Draco wondered to himself as he opened the parchment and began to read. Almost immediately after he started reading the letter, however, his question was answered and he understood Ron's urgency. He dashed to the bedside to wake Hermione at once.

"Mia, honey," Draco said sweetly, trying to shake his wife awake gently.

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled happily as she looked up to see Draco looking back at her. Her smile was short lived and changed to a look of curiosity when she saw the serious look on her husband's pale features.

"Draco?" Hermione asked, sitting up slowly. "Baby, what is it?"

Draco sat down beside her on the bed and handed her the letter from Ron. Hermione looked at him curiously again but took to reading the note. Her eyes began widening in shock almost immediately as she read.

'_Mione and Draco, _

_Sorry to cut your little honeymoon thing short but we've got a situation to handle. Apparently, Voldemort is planning something--something big. The word from Snape is that somehow Voldemort has obtained knowledge of our attack plans and is planning to cut us off before we can carry them out. Snape says that he is still looking for the informant but has had no luck as of yet. None of our ranks are missing and from what Lupin has heard, no one in the entire Order has the mark either--except for Snape and Draco._

_Lupin and some other members are here now discussing things with dad and Bill but we will all be heading that way in about an hour for an emergency meeting. Thought you may want a head's up before we all just barge in on you guys._

_See you soon,_

_Ron_

"Dammit!" Hermione spat angrily as soon as she finished reading the note.

She jumped up from the bed, nearly knocking Draco off of it, and immediately began throwing random articles of clothing on, spewing out obscenities left and right in frustration. Draco watched his wife for a moment and almost smiled at her antics before getting up from the edge of the bed and getting dressed himself. Hermione headed towards the bathroom, still growling things more to herself than to Draco. Draco didn't pay much attention to her ramblings though because he understood her frustration and he was used to seeing her act that way when she was irritated. That is, he paid no attention until he heard something that he couldn't believe.

"There is no way I'm letting Voldemort win this time," Hermione's voice sounded softly through the bathroom door. "I will get rid of him one way or another and Harry will be back by my side where he belongs."

Draco stopped in his tracks when he heard his wife mention her former love.

'_She's going to try and resurrect Harry?_' Draco thought to himself. '_Back by her side? What does she mean by that? She's not still in love with Potter is she? No, she cant be….can she? No of course not, she's my wife now._'

Hermione came out of the bathroom just then. She held a look of complete determination on her beautiful features but softened a bit when she saw the look of confusion and hurt on her husband's pale face.

"Draco? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, moving towards him.

Draco snapped his eyes up from his thoughts to look at his wife. His icy blue eyes bore into her own honey brown ones as if searching for an answer to an unspoken question. When Hermione was almost to him, he put up a hand to stop her, leaving his wife looking at him in confusion.

"Hermione," Draco began. "Why did you marry me?"

Hermione looked like she had just been slapped in the face. "What kind of question is that?"

"It's a serious question, Hermione." Draco replied solemnly. "Am I just a consolation prize for what you really want?"

"What are you talking about! Why would you ask me such a thing?" Hermione answered, in shock and hurt at his accusation. "I love you Draco and I think that after all this time and everything we've been through, you should know that by now."

Draco took a deep breath and turned away from Hermione. He crossed the room slowly and stopped in front of the window, staring out into the sunlight.

"What about Harry?" Draco asked quietly, trying to brace himself for the answer he hoped was not coming.

"What about him?" Hermione asked cautiously. "Harry's been gone for almost two years now, Draco. What does he have to do with anything now?"

"But for how much longer is he gone for?" Draco asked, turning around to face his dumbstruck wife. "I heard you, Hermione. You're going to try to bring him back aren't you? 'Back by your side where he belongs'….your words."

Hermione looked completely flabbergasted as realization struck her suddenly like a semi truck.

'_Oh no, he heard my ranting in the bathroom and now he thinks…_' Hermione thought to herself. '_Oh gods, he thinks I'm bringing Harry back because I'm still in love with him!_'

"Draco," Hermione said calmly, walking slowly across the room to where he was standing and placing a hand lovingly on his arm which was crossed with the other one across his muscular chest. She looked up into his icy blue eyes.

"I love you. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Remember my vows yesterday? I meant every single word, Draco. You are my soul mate, my second half. I am not complete without you. As for Harry, well yes, I will always have love for him but only as my best friend. I'm doing what I'm meant to do so please, Draco, just trust me on this."

Hermione continued to stare into her husband's eyes pleadingly and Draco saw the love in them that he had always seen. He nodded his head slightly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him and kissing her tenderly on the forehead.

The two stayed there in the embrace for a few moments until they began to hear sounds of people entering the house downstairs. Hermione broke away from the embrace slightly, grabbing a hold of Draco's hand and pulling him with her out the bedroom door.

"Well, come on sweetheart. We'd better get down there before they send someone up here for us." Hermione said, a slight laughter in her words. Suddenly she stopped for a moment and turned to look at her husband once more.

"Oh and please, Draco, do not mention anything about my plans for Harry to the other members. No one knows that part and I would rather they didn't."

Draco nodded his head at his wife's request and kissed her lightly again before the newly wedded couple began to make their way down the stairs to the dining room where they could already hear the raised voices of some of the members.


	12. The Leak Is Discovered

**_Chapter 11: The Leak Discovered_**

"We can not continue as planned!" Ron Weasley's voice sounded over the others as Hermione and Draco entered the dining room. "Are you bloody mad! He knows we're coming, it would be suicide!"

The voices of the other members grew as well until it seemed that everyone was arguing with everyone else. Apparently while some believed the best thing to do was to continue with the attack plan, others thought it was a terrible idea and then others still were simply ready to do whatever was needed of them whenever it was needed.

Draco and Hermione listened in for a few moments before Hermione had heard enough and tried to get everyone's attention but nothing she was doing was seeming to work. Finally, sensing his wife's irritation and frustration, Draco stepped in and took over. He climbed up on an empty chair and, using his fingers in the corners of his mouth, he released a high-pitched, loud whistle and almost immediately, everyone ceased their arguments and turned to look at Draco to see who had made the noise.

"Finally!" Draco said irritably. "Now, given that this whole attack plan that is the topic of conversation at the moment was my wife's plan, I believe that perhaps we should hear what she has to say about the new circumstances."

Everyone looked at each other and nodded so Draco stepped down carefully off the chair as the other members began to reclaim their seats. He stepped back over to his wife and gave her a small, reassuring smile and kissed her sweetly on the forehead again. The couple seated themselves silently at the head of the table beside Remus Lupin and opposite Ron in a couple of seats that were vacated just for the newly weds.

Hermione glanced around the table and saw that all eyes seemed to be focused on her, waiting for her to say something. She felt herself grow nervously uncomfortable, which was strange in itself because Hermione seldom got nervous in situations like this one. Luckily, however, Remus sensed her discomfort and stepped in, taking the focus momentarily off of Hermione, who sighed heavily in relief.

"Alright, well as we all now know, it appears that we have a spy among our ranks." Remus paused for a moment and glanced around the table, his eyes stopping for a pointed second on Draco. Draco noticed this and raised his eyebrow questionably at the elderly werewolf sitting near him.

Remus cleared his throat. "We already have two known former Death Eaters in the Order. Professor Snape is currently continuing his duties as an inside spy in Voldemort's circle as well as trying to look out for the leak. This however leaves one other person."

All eyes around the table immediately turned their focus from Remus to the young blonde sitting beside Hermione. Hermione looked around the table in shock and bewilderment before turning her focus to Remus.

"You cannot be serious!" Hermione shrieked, standing up abruptly, her chair falling from the force. "Remus, please! Tell me you are not seriously suggesting that it could even be _possible_ that Draco was working with them again!"

Remus looked at Draco and then again at Hermione before replying.

"No, Hermione. We're not accusing Draco of anything of the sort." Remus told her. "However, we must ask that he remove himself from this meeting while we discuss the plan for the attack. It's simply procedure until the spy can be found."

Before Hermione could protest, however, she felt a strong, warm hand on her shoulder and she looked behind her to see Draco standing there.

"It's alright, Mia." Draco said in a much to calm voice that Hermione could tell only meant that he was forcing himself to remain calm so that he wouldn't hurt anyone. "It's just procedure. Don't worry about…"

Draco was suddenly cut off by the sound of the front door being slammed open and two sets of feet coming down the hallway hurriedly. Before anyone could react, Snape was striding purposefully into the dining room, pulling a black hooded figure in tow behind him. Snape shoved the figure in front of the members for everyone to see with such force that it caused the hood to slip from it's position and reveal the figure's identity. Hermione gasped loudly as the hood fell and revealed….

_**A/N: HAHAHAHA that would be awful if I ended the chapter here wouldn't it? HEHEHE but no, luckily I'm not that cold blooded so I'm finishing lol.**_

"Jeremy?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

Snape immobilized Jeremy for a moment and strode forward to the young man. He reached down and yanked the young man's left arm up to eye level so everyone could see and ripped Jeremy's sleeve up to reveal a very real and very black Dark Mark shining on his forearm. Around the room, unbelieving gasps were heard as almost everyone seemed dumbfounded at the revelation.

"I think I have discovered our spy, Lupin." Snape sneered at Jeremy who was still immobilized but you could almost see him smirking back at the professor. "I found him sneaking away from the Death Eater meeting this morning."

Hermione sunk down into her chair in shock. She could not believe for a moment that Jeremy Donovan had been a Death Eater spy this entire time. After everything that he had done for her, for the Order, it was just all too much for Hermione to handle right now. Not to mention that just yesterday they had allowed him to be Draco's groomsman in their wedding! She could not understand it at all but she was going to get the answers she wanted. Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket swiftly and, pushing Draco's hand off of her leg in the process, strode determinedly around the table to the other side of the room where Jeremy was standing. Catching Snape off guard at her abruptness, she pushed her ex-professor out of the way and took the charm off her former friend.

"How could you!" Hermione shouted, tears already beginning to sting her eyes. "I trusted you!"

**SLAP!** Hermione slapped a smirking Jeremy and continued her yelling, shoving him backwards bit by bit with every rant.

"We all trusted you!" Hermione continued angrily. "You helped save my life once! I let you near my friends and my family! I even let you be a part of my wedding just yesterday and this is how you show us your gratitude and support? By betraying us all to that low-life hypocrite?"

Hermione shoved him once again and he tripped backwards, crashing heavily into the few stairs that lead from the dining room to the entry way. Hermione stepped over Jeremy, who seemed to be trembling slightly in fear at the tiny woman over him, and peered down at him. Her normally twinkling, honey colored eyes were now flashing red and a deep blue glow was beginning to emanate from her very being. She lifted her wand slowly up his body towards his chest, her eyes flashing in rage.

Draco, seeing what was happening and what was probably about to happen, suddenly dashed around to where Hermione was and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her away from Jeremy. His wife started screaming at him to let her go so she could give the traitor what he deserved but Draco held on tightly to her--even when Hermione's anger and hurt began to take her over and her entire body began to shake. The screams from Hermione increased as the power and energy coursing through her veins grew as well but still, Draco held his arms tight around his wife. The glow began to grow brighter and the entire room was starting to vibrate from the energy waves coming off of Hermione.

"Everyone!" Draco shouted over Hermione's screams at the bewildered looking members. "Get Jeremy and get out of the dining room…._NOW_!"

Immediately everyone scrambled to their feet. Snape grabbed Jeremy roughly and shoved him through the door to the sitting room along with everyone else. As soon as Draco heard the doors shut tightly, he released his hold on Hermione and almost immediately felt the room's tremors begin to decrease. He back slowly away from Hermione, who's back was still towards him and was still trembling and glowing slightly, and moved slowly around to face his wife.

As he moved so he could see her face, Draco saw that Hermione had a steady stream of tears flowing almost seamlessly down her cheeks and her eyes were closed tightly, her head down. He inched forward towards her and noticed that the blue glow was almost completely diminished now.

"Hermione?" Draco asked timidly, not wanting to startle her in her state.

Hermione opened her eyes and lifted her head slowly and saw her loving husband moving cautiously towards her. She also realized that the dining room was now empty, save the two of them, though she did not really remember everyone leaving. Hermione thought hard for a moment, trying to recall what had just transpired and suddenly it all came rushing back to her. She remembered everything, from Remus telling Draco to leave the meeting because he used to be a Death Eater to Snape dragging Jeremy in and proclaiming him to be the spy that betrayed them. It was then that Hermione also remembered attacking Jeremy for betraying them, for betraying her.

"Mia." Draco said again, now standing directly in front of his dazed looking wife. Hermione snapped her eyes back to reality and looked at her husband and, seeing the concerned look on his face, collapsed into tears. Draco's seeker-fast reflexes kicked into action and he caught her softly in his strong arms. Bringing himself down with her, the couple sat together on the dining room floor as Hermione allowed herself to cry on his shoulder while he caressed her hair lovingly.

"I'm so sorry Draco." Hermione sobbed softly into his shoulder, soaking his t-shirt. "I just lost control. Why does everything keep falling apart?"

"I don't know, baby." Draco replied softly. "I just don't know."

"What am I going to do now? We cant go through with this. When am I finally going to be able to get rid of that bastard so we can finally get on with our lives?" Hermione asked though she knew that Draco didn't have any more answers than she did.

"I'm not sure, honey, but I do know that we will figure it out together." Draco answered calmly. "Something tells me that somehow, this whole stupid war will be over much sooner than we think."


	13. The Resolve is Failing

**A/N: Okay I promised you a chapter and here you are...however I warn you now that I am not at all happy with this. I've been suffering from massive writers block, trying to prolong the ending because 12 chapters is just not even close to enough for one of my stories lol. NEWAY, I hope it's not too disappointing to you.**

**Kai**

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_Chapter 12: The Resolve is Fading_**

About twenty minutes after the other members had dispersed from the dining room during Hermione's momentary loss of control, Hermione had calmed down enough for the meeting to continue. Snape had smartly left Jeremy in the sitting room after magically binding him and silencing him with a charm where he was now waiting to be transported to an Auror interrogation room at the Ministry by Mad-Eye and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They all gathered back around the dining room table, some throwing curious glances in Hermione's direction as if wondering silently whether it was truly safe to return to the same room as her or not. Hermione on the other hand spent almost the entirety of the remainder of the meeting with her head downcast, sending her curls downward to cover her face, which was almost constantly hidden in Draco's shoulder from embarrassment.

They went over various details that they had been able to get from Jeremy but nothing really helped the situation. No matter what, they were still faced with a problem about whether or not to continue with the plan and right now it was looking very dangerous if they did. Finally, after about another thirty minutes of deliberations and arguments, the group decided that it would be best to start planning another course of action because since Voldemort had now gotten wind of their plan, it was way too dangerous to go through with. Hermione even agreed solemnly, even though part of her still wanted to continue as planned because she was just so sick and tired of all the run around with Voldemort. It was like playing a game of cat and mouse that never ended.

One thing that everyone, including Hermione, did agree on, however, was what to do about Hermione's control issue (yes it was brought up). Remus and the others were concerned about what would happen when Hermione was actually face to face with Voldemort, especially after the display of her powers that they had just seen only a short time before. She had completely seemed to lose all control over herself and her emotions which scared most of the members because they had never seen such power before and power like Hermione's could end up being immensely dangerous if it was not harnessed properly. So Hermione came up with the idea that she would go to Hogwarts and talk to Minerva about staying there to work on her 'problem' since it was one of the safest places in the entire wizarding world.

Draco wasn't sure about this idea mostly because he wasn't sure Hogwarts was truly as safe as it used to be after the 'fiasco' during their sixth year but also because he wasn't really ready to admit that Hermione really was going to have so much to do with Voldemort. The whole situation had always frightened him ever since he'd learned about the whole book thing and Hermione's ancestry but he had tried his best not to show it. Draco was having a lot of security issues it seemed since Hermione returned, which was completely out of his normal confident personality. He was worried about Hermione and their daughter almost constantly, resulting in little sleep and constant headaches. The battle that Hermione was going to have with Voldemort was the most of his worries lately however and almost every night was plagued with nightmares of Hermione dying at his hand. He'd only had his angel back in his life for a very short time but he was already beginning to have second thoughts on everything because he was so afraid of what was going to happen. Especially earlier in the day when he discovered Hermione's plan to bring her best friend and her first love back to life.

Draco had always been a bit jealous of Harry, all through their years at Hogwarts and especially during their seventh year when he competed with Harry for Hermione's heart. And even after Harry was gone, Draco still kept a small bit of jealousy towards the raven haired boy because he knew deep down that Harry would always hold a piece of Hermione's heart even in death and that was a part that Draco could never have. He'd spent the little bit of time that Hermione had been back in his arms holding her as tightly as humanly possible, vowing never to let her go again, but now he knew that the time was swiftly approaching when he'd have to let her go. Hermione had a duty, a destiny if you will, and Draco knew that she never backed down from her duty. All he wanted to do was move his new wife and their almost one year old daughter to some small, completely unknown place and live away from everything for the rest of their lives. Of course, Draco knew that was practically impossible given who Hermione's friends were and the fact that their daughter would one day have to go to school but he could dream and wish right?

As the meeting began to adjourn for the night, Draco realized that he had been dazed off during most of it. He quickly jerked his attention back to the present and stood up along with Hermione to join the others who were staying for awhile in the sitting room for tea and conversation, just as the Order members usually did after most meetings. It gave everyone a chance to get away from the war and just be amongst friends for awhile without talking about Voldemort or some new problem or whatnot. This night only a couple of members remained, Snape, Ron, Bill, and Lupin had all gathered in the sitting room after Mad-Eye took Jeremy out of the house to the Ministry. Hermione sat down on the love seat next to her husband with a cup of steaming tea in her hands. Draco looked over at her and noticed that her hands were still shaking slightly and she was staring into her cup with a very solemn look on her face. From time to time she would sigh softly to herself.

'_I just don't know what to do anymore_,' Draco thought to himself as he dazed in and out of the conversation going on between Remus and Snape. '_I love her so much it hurts but I don't know if I can just stand by and do nothing while she risks her life time and time again_.'

He snapped back into the conversation just in time to hear Remus lower his voice a bit.

"I'm worried about her too Severus. We all are." Remus said quietly to his former enemy. "She's been through so much in the past couple years and she never even has time to relax before the next thing happens. I don't know how much longer she can go on before she completely self-destructs."

"Perhaps it would be best if we continued trying to get that book away from Voldemort ourselves and keep Miss Granger, excuse me, Mrs. Malfoy away from the action for the time being until it is a bit calmer?" Severus answered, the normal sneer still on his face **_(A/N: I swear it's plastered there permanently!)_.**

"No, I don't think that's wise, Professor." Draco suddenly interjected, glancing to his side to notice that Hermione was still staring at her cup, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

Snape looked over at Draco, slightly startled by his sudden words. "Why do you say that Draco? Surely you agree that your wife has done more than her share already?"

"Well yes of course she has. But you both know Hermione as well as I do and you know that she would never agree to such a thing." Draco continued. "This is her job and she takes complete care in insuring that her duty is fulfilled and if she knew that the Order went ahead and tried to take the book from Voldemort without her then she would be furious."

Remus and Snape looked at each other momentarily and nodded slightly in agreement. It was true, if either man knew anything about Hermione it was that she took great pride and precedence in her job and if she found out they went behind her back then she'd never forgive them.

"Don't get me wrong, as much as I would love it if Hermione was completely out of this war and her so called 'duty' but it's part of her spirit and it's that part of her that initially sparked my love for her." Draco finished, looking down at his own hands and sneaking a glance at his wife who was still looking at her cup.

As he looked at her for that brief moment, he saw a small single tear slide from her eye down her cheek and realized that she had actually been listening all along. His heart almost broke when he saw the tear because he realized what she must be feeling inside after hearing the two people she looked up to the most talking about her as if she couldn't do her job. Worrying that she might break down or lose control again. Suddenly Hermione abruptly stood up with her cup of tea still in her hands and walked from the room without looking at or speaking to anyone. Draco could only imagine that she was feeling hurt and embarrassed at what had transpired that evening. Draco watched after her for a moment before excusing himself as well and followed her up to their room.

As he entered the bedroom, he heard the soft sound of sobs coming from the adjoining bathroom and noticed that the door was cracked open a bit. Draco crossed the room silently and peaked into the bathroom. There was Hermione, sitting in a ball on the floor by the shower, sobbing to herself softly. Draco knocked softly before entering through the cracked door and immediately went to her side, wrapping his arms around her and running his hands through her hair.

"It's alright sweetheart." Draco murmured to her.

"No…it's…not…" Hermione mumbled back through her sobs. "Everyone is starting to think I cant do it. I've always been the one person that everyone counted on for sure that could pull off just about anything asked of me."

Draco felt like he could somewhat empathize with Hermione on that subject because he himself had been expected of many things in his lifetime and he had always felt like he was truly letting everyone down most of the time. All throughout his early life, he had done everything he was told to do regardless of how he may or may not really feel about it simply because his father expected it of him and Draco had desperately wanted his father to be proud of him. It had been that way all the way through the end of his sixth year of school when, after failing his mission and his father again for the millionth time, he finally broke away from the 'image' that was forced upon him and became his own person.

Draco pulled Hermione off the floor and brought her into the room, laying her gently on the bed. He crawled into bed next to her and pulled her onto his chest. Hermione wrapped his arms around his torso and continued crying softly until she finally drifted off into a deep sleep. Draco stayed awake, however, his arm wrapped around her tightly. He stared up at the ceiling and let his mind wander as he listened to the steady sound of his wife's breathing.

'_What do I do now?'_ Draco thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling, absentmindedly stroking Hermione's hair as she slept. _'I love her more than life itself but it's killing me to see her this way. Always so stressed, always in danger. Always putting everyone before herself and her own well being.'_

He laid there, unmoving except for his hand which continued to stroke his wife's hair, staring at the ceiling and pondering when their lives would honestly and truly get to start together. For even though they were technically 'together'--after all they were officially married now--they had never really been 'together'. It had always been Hermione doing her job and Draco following along for the ride.

"Draco," Hermione's small voice mumbled in from his chest where her head lay, jerking him back to reality for a moment. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mia. More than you will ever know." Draco whispered back, vaguely registering that Hermione had already fallen right back asleep.

He continued to think about their future and what it would be like, wondering if they would ever really be free of Voldemort and whether things would ever change between them if and when Voldemort was finally defeated. Draco even allowed his mind to wander for a few moments to Harry Potter, fallen hero, best friend of his new wife and her first love. Would Harry still harbor feelings for Hermione if/when she brought him back? Would she really be able to bring him back and why was she so adamant about doing it? Draco shook off those thoughts, telling himself that he needed worry too much about Harry because he knew that Hermione loved him and that she would always love him--at least he hoped that she would.

As the early morning dawn began to sneak it's way above the horizon, Draco sighed to himself.

"Well it's almost time to leave once again. Back to Hogwarts--again--back to where it all started." He said to himself softly, tilting his head to the side slightly and kissing Hermione gently on the forehead.


	14. Memories

**A/N: hey all, sorry for the long wait. This chapter is a bit on the short side, but it took me 2 weeks to get just this and though I'm not fully happy with it, I decided to post it anyway because I'd made you all wait so long. I also posted another chapter which is twice the size of this one to make up for the long wait.**

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**_Chapter Thirteen: Memories_**

"Focus Miss Granger!" Snape's loud voice boomed through the dungeon room. "You need to focus, you're letting it take control over you."

Snape had volunteered to help Hermione with her training. So after stopping by the Burrow for a short time and asking Mrs. Weasley to take Alexis for awhile so that Hermione could focus on her training, Draco and Hermione made the four hour train ride back to Hogwarts yet again. Snape was still not able to take back up his teaching position and he was still playing spy for the Order so McGonagall gave them permission to use the deep dungeons below the school for their training so that Snape could slip in and out easily without being noticed.

This was the first night of training and already Hermione was letting her frustration take over her. She couldn't seem to do anything right, no matter how she tried she just could not seem to take control over her powers at will.

"I'm trying Severus!" Hermione hollered back at her old Potions professor. "Maybe if you weren't hollering at me every five seconds I'd be able to concentrate!"

This round of training, Snape simply had Hermione trying to focus her energy on to inanimate objects--trying to move them or blow them up. Nothing seemed to be working….every time Hermione could feel her powers starting to swell, she'd lose control over them and they'd just explode. They had been at it for going of four straight hours already and not one single bit of progress could be shown thus far. Hermione felt herself growing weaker from all the exertion and all of a sudden collapsed in the middle of the floor.

"Fine, since apparently you cant hack it tonight, Miss Granger, we'll end our session for the night." Snape said, sneering at the exhausted woman. "Make sure you are back here tomorrow evening at 8pm sharp."

Hermione slowly picked herself up from the floor and headed tenderly towards the door to the dungeon room. Stopping just before she exited, she turned back and smirked at her former professor.

"I'll be here, don't you worry Severus." Her smirk widened. "Oh, and it's not Miss Granger anymore--it's Mrs. Malfoy."

With that, she turned on her heel wearily and left the room. Hermione made her way gingerly up the many flights of stairs to the suite of rooms on the third floor that McGonagall had given her and Draco to use while they were here. As she stepped through the door, she stopped and smiled slightly as she saw Draco lying half asleep on the common room couch, a book folded over his bare chest. She made her way silently over to him and placed a soft, chaste kiss on his forehead and whispered 'I love you' in his ear. Hermione then made her way into the adjoining bathroom to take a long hot bubble bath because her muscles were killing her.

She closed the door, leaving it open a crack, and turned on the taps. The room began to fill with an intoxicating scent of vanilla as she slowly and gingerly removed her sweaty clothing. She peaked at herself in the wall length mirror and saw that she already had a couple large bruises forming on her back and arms from where one of the boulders she had been trying to move had exploded and the pieces had struck.

She leaned over and turned off the taps and slid delicately into the hot bubbles. She laid her head back on the rim of the huge tub and closed her eyes, savoring the relaxing heat of the water and the intoxicating aroma of vanilla. Before long, Hermione found herself drifting off into a peaceful, dream filled sleep.

_She found herself walking through the massive grounds of her favorite place in the world--Hogwarts. The sun was shining brightly overhead and the birds were chirping sweetly. It was spring, her favorite time of year. All around her the other students were laughing and joking and having fun in the sunshine. She spotted the two most important people in her life just in front of her, heading towards the Quidditch Pitch, and she smiled to herself._

'_This is just so…perfect.' She thought happily to herself._

_Her dream spun around her and next thing she knew she was standing in the middle of the Great Hall. Magical melodies playing through the air and everyone dressed up and dancing happily around her. Turning around she came face to face with Harry who smiled at her and took her hand._

_The dream spun around her again and this time she was in the Head's dormitories. She was standing in the Head Boy's bedchamber, staring into the eyes of Draco. He pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately._

_Next she saw herself at Monroe Mansion, just having given birth to their daughter Alexis. The angelic baby girl looked up at her mother with her blue-green eyes sparkling. It was the happiest moment in Hermione's life._

_The swirling vortex of her dream took her next to Grimmauld Place where she could see the beautiful roses and garlands filling the backyard. Her wedding, the second happiest day of her life._

Hermione was smiling gently in her slumber, so deep asleep she did not hear the door creak open and Draco kneel beside the tub. Draco reached out and lovingly pushed aside a wet piece of hair from her forehead, causing her smile to grow wider at the contact. Hermione opened her eyes slowly and saw her husband kneeling beside her and pulled him close, placing a kiss on his lips.

"I love you, Draco Malfoy." She said quietly, looking directly into his icy blue eyes. "Don't ever forget that."

"I love you too, Hermione." He replied.

He helped her wash her hair and cleaned her back for her gently, noticing the now visible bruises forming on her arms and back. He knew that this training thing was going to be hard on her but he hadn't realized till just then how hard.

After drying off and donning a long, white, satin nightgown, Hermione climbed into bed gently, her body still a bit sore. Draco quickly changed out of his clothes, leaving only a pair of dark blue silk boxers, and climbed in beside her, pulling her instantly next to him and holding her close. The couple laid in bed, just seeking comfort in each other's presence until Hermione broke the silence.

"You know, Draco," she said softly. "I think I may have a clue as to how this whole power thing works."

"Oh yea? What's that?" He replied, gently playing with her hair in his fingers.

"My memories, my feelings." She said, pausing for a moment. "I think that if I focus on some of the happier times, the strongest times in my life and those who mean the most to me, I can use that energy to control these stupid powers of mine. I just hope that it works…"


	15. Training Hard

**A/N: Here's the second chapter I said I was uploading. It'sa bit longer. I'm still not fully happy with it but the story must go on. There will probably only be a few more chapters left of LRH...I cant believe the end is finally in sight! Thank you all for sticking with me for the last few months and following my story. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!

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_Chapter Fourteen: Training Hard_**

For the next month and a half, Hermione spent almost every single night training with Severus. She was definitely making massive progress, even the stiff, cranky, ex-Potions Professor had to admit that. It was if she had seemingly found her niche. Her powers seemed to finally appear under her control, for the most part. She was able to break boulders, levitate large items, and was even beginning to be able to form energy-like balls from the blue glowing energy that surrounded her when her powers came out….all by simply using her mind power that she had developed.

It was one such training evening when she finally invited Draco to come and watch her train, and maybe even get a bit of training in himself. The final battle that she had long been awaiting, both in fear and anxiety, was drawing ever closer now…she could feel it. Soon would finally be the time when everything that she had been working for during the past couple years would come into play and it would be either win all or lose everything--of course Hermione didn't want to think about the latter.

So, that's what they were doing this night. It was well after 11pm, rounding closer to midnight, and the three of them were still deep in the dungeons in a huge, cold room, practicing techniques and strengthening their powers. Severus had come up with the idea of putting Hermione to the true test and setting up a little obstacle-like course that evening. The entire room had been transformed to look like a battlefield, complete with illusions of her friends and loved ones fighting illusions of Death Eaters. Severus had discussed it with Draco and the two of them had camouflaged themselves as well, Severus as a Death Eater and Draco as well (since it would be more realistic to have the "real" fighters on the opposite side for this training , and blended in with the battle illusion. They had done this after asking Hermione to step outside the room for a couple of moments so that she would be truly surprised, just like the real battle would be.

After a few moments, Hermione heard Severus holler for her to return and she entered the room, her wand at the ready because she had no clue what they were up to, but she did know the ruthlessness and calculating nature of her former professor. As soon as she entered, a green colored curse shot past her and she immediately went into fight mode. Ducking and rolling forward, she inched her way into the battle 'illusion' that was now going on all around her. She moved through the crowd and saw many familiar faces, Order members as well as a few of the girls from the Daughters. There were tons of black cloaked figures as well, their faces covered in masks that she knew to be Death Eaters. It didn't take her long to realize that Severus had planned an impromptu battle practice so that she would be able to ready herself for what it would really be like. Multi-colored curses and jinxes soared above her and all around her as she made her way cautiously through the midst of the battle. She spotted a very dark and sinister looking individual off in the "corner" and she suddenly felt an overwhelming coldness devour her…almost immediately she realized that this was "Voldemort".

Hermione's heart began to race and she felt her body start to tremble in fear as she maneuvered her way towards the figure. She was about 50ft from it, when suddenly out of nowhere, a spell struck her from behind and she fell forward, her arm instinctively flying out to break her fall. As soon as she landed, face first on the hard ground, her wand arm out in front of her, she heard the unmistakable sound of a bone shattering and felt a very strong pain shoot up her arm from her wrist. She cried out loudly as she realized that her wrist was broken and there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She also cried out at the realization that it was her wand arm. So far, they had not delved much into the wandless aspect of her training, even though she knew that she was able to do wandless magic….her wand was just a comfort for her.

Before she could truly focus on what had happened, she heard an all-too-familiar laugh above her and slowly pulled herself up and around to see her attacker. Hermione almost collapsed when she saw the black hood slide from the "illusion" …there standing before her was her worst nightmare (and no, it was not Voldemort). It was non other than the once thought to be dead, Lucius Malfoy, her father in law.

'_Calm yourself, Hermione_,' She cursed herself as she stared disbelievingly at the image in front of her. '_It's only an illusion. He's not real_.'

The Lucius 'illusion' brought his wand up and pointed it directly at Hermione's heart. She felt her pulse quicken as she watched the typical smirk pull his lips. He raised his hand to swipe a curse down on her and, out of nowhere, she felt a sudden surge of hatred and raised her own hand instinctively, facing it's palm towards him. Her eyes bore into his and just as he swiped his wand downward, Hermione felt a surge of energy burst from her hand. It blasted directly into him and knocked him backwards. The 'illusion' landed with a sickening CRUNCH on the hard ground and Hermione stood in silence, staring at the 'body' of her father-in-law, completely oblivious to the illusion around her fading.

When she finally allowed reality to hit her, she realized that the illusion was now gone. The dungeon room was back to it's original form and the 'body' laying before her was not her father-in-law, but her husband. Hermione gasped and immediately rushed to his side, noticing that he was completely unconscious and there was a small puddle of blood forming under his platinum blonde head where he had smacked his head when he was blasted backwards. She vaguely registered Severus rushing to her side and quickly muttering a small healing spell to fix the wound on the back of Draco's head. Severus then turned to Hermione and caught her attention, shaking the shocked girl.

"Hermione, it's not your fault." Severus said, a surprising warm tone to his normally cold voice. "I did not know who he was going to change into. I simply assumed that he was going to transfigure his clothing into Death Eater robes to blend in with the battle illusion."

Still in shock, Hermione followed wordlessly as Severus levitated the still unconscious Draco into the air and through the secret passageways from the dungeons to the hospital wing. Laying him on one of the white covered beds, he summoned Madame Pomphrey and explained the situation. Hermione sat herself at Draco's bedside, still too shocked and upset to say a word, and held his hand lovingly. Pomphrey came and examined Draco, waving her wand over him to heal as much damage as she could. She then left the room and came back, carrying a small vile of bluish potion which she forced down his throat. After explaining to Hermione that Draco was going to be fine and that she had just given him a potion to help with the pain, the nurse left the couple alone again. Severus stood for a few more moments at his former favorite pupil's bedside, watching his new wife hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, before retreating silently out the door. Just before exiting, however, he turned around and tried once again to get through to Hermione.

"Remember, it was not your fault. Draco will be fine. You were only doing what came instinctively to you, as was the intent of the exercise. I must say you did very well." Severus said the last part softly, then finished his retreat through the hospital doors.

For the next two hours, Hermione remained almost completely unmoving at Draco's side as he stirred in his sleep. Pomphrey came in a couple of times, telling Hermione that Draco was healing just fine and would more than likely wake up shortly. That still did not make Hermione feel any better. She felt responsible for what happened to her husband, as non-life threatening as it may be in reality. She couldn't accept that she had used her powers against her own husband, regardless of the fact that one, she didn't know it was him or that the person was 'real', and two, that it was all simply part of a training exercise.

Another thirty, or so, minutes later, Draco finally opened his eyes, groaning slightly at the headache he had from hitting his head so hard. Hermione gasped and grabbed his hand tighter when she saw that he was waking up. Immediately she jumped into apology mode and began gushing out her concern for her husband.

"Oh, Draco!" Hermione cried when she heard him groan and saw his eyes flutter open. "I'm so sorry, love, so sorry! I didn't know it was you, I'd never mean to hurt you. You know that right? Right?"

A small smirk appeared on Draco's lips as he heard his wife pleading her case. He pulled himself uneasily into a sitting position and felt Hermione immediately jump to his aid, causing him to chuckle sweetly.

"Mia, honey. Calm down." Draco said wearily, still not completely awake after the ordeal. "Really, baby, it's alright. I'm fine…see?"

"I know, Draco, but I'm still so sorry. I didn't know it was you!" Hermione cried, throwing her arms around Draco, causing him to groan a bit in pain since he was still sore from the force of the blast.

"It's alright, sweetheart. Really, no harm, no foul. I knew that you didn't know it was me, that was the whole point." Draco said reassuringly. "If you had known it was really me, then you wouldn't have done anything and that would have completely defeated the whole point. But you did wonderfully. I'm proud of you."

A small smile crept on to Hermione's lips as she heard her husband's reassuring words. She sat back down and reached out her right hand to touch his arm and was instead met by an excruciating pain that shot through her arm. During all her confusion and concern about her husband and what had just happened, she had completely lost all focus on the fact that her wrist was broken. But now all the adrenaline was gone and the pain was replaced, causing her to scream out. Draco called for Madame Pomphrey and slid off the bed to kneel in front of his wife.

"Oh, honey. Your wrist, it was broken in the fall wasn't it? I didn't think that the spell I hit you with would've made you lose your balance that much but I couldn't break the illusion. I'm sorry, sweetheart." Draco said, kissing her forehead.

Madame Pomphrey rushed back in to see Draco fully awake and kneeling before a cringing Hermione, who was nursing her right arm.

"My dear child! What happened?" She asked when she reached the couple. Hermione had been here the whole time and not once had mentioned anything about a broken wrist.

"I was so worried about Draco that I had completely shut off my own pain." Hermione answered, smiling a little at her own slip of the mind.

Pomphrey tut-tutted and set to work, mending the bones in Hermione's wrist and gave her a vile of pain reliever to take if the soreness got too harsh.

Twenty minutes later, the couple was back in their makeshift suite, stripping their clothes off in the bathroom to take a much needed bath…together. Hermione's body was still slightly sore from the energies that she had used and Draco was, of course, still a bit sore from the energies Hermione had used on him. Draco filled the large bathtub with steaming water and he and his wife slid silently into the heat. Draco pulled Hermione against his chest and she laid her head back wearily on his shoulder, allowing him to massage the tense muscles in her arms.

The two washed each other lovingly, stopping to give soft kisses on one another's bare skin from time to time, then stepped out and wrapped themselves in their warm robes. Emptying the bathtub, they made their way into their room and crawled into bed together, discarding their robes on the floor. They laid together, completely naked, cuddled together lovingly. Hermione drifted into a peaceful sleep after murmuring her love to Draco and feeling a tender kiss placed on her forehead.

"I think you are finally ready, my darling." Draco whispered to her as she passed into sleep, his arms wrapped protectively around her. He kissed her forehead and murmured his love into her ear before allowing himself to drift off into sleep with her.


	16. ReEstablishing the Connection

**_Chapter Fifteen: Re-establishing the Connection_**

Two weeks after the training incident with Draco, Severus was talking to Hermione about the upcoming fight. For the first time that Hermione could remember, Snape was telling her that he was proud of the improvement she'd made and that he honestly thought she was ready to do what she needed to do. Hermione wasn't really so sure, herself, but if Snape seemed confident then she could try to make herself more confident as well. But there was still a few more things to work on before they could put their trainings into action.

Snape, Hermione and Draco discussed what each of their strengths and weaknesses were since Draco was going to be fighting beside her, much to Hermione's dismay because she didn't want him anywhere near the main battle, they needed to learn how to work together. They talked about their connection and were trying to re-establish it because it would definitely come in handy and they should be able to re-establish it now that Hermione had gained control over her new powers. Draco had been working on his wandless magic as well, having never really gotten the hang of it during sixth year since he was a bit, um preoccupied, with other things.

So, that's where they were now. Snape had moved them to a clearing in the forest, big enough for them to practice in and definitely a lot better than the hard stone of the dungeons. At the moment, Draco and Hermione were sitting cross-legged on opposite sides of the clearing. Their eyes were closed and they were trying to concentrate on each other, just as they had done when they first began learning to use their connection. It was a beautiful day, the end of March. The sun was shining bright (they had decided to work during the day since they were hidden in the forest now and working outside in the middle of the night was not exactly the smartest thing in the world) and there was a soft breeze rustling the trees. Hermione allowed herself to go completely at ease, trying not to think about anyone or anything but her husband. It was something that she realized she hadn't done in much too long. They hadn't even made love to each other since they'd come back to Hogwarts to do her training and that was roughly two long months ago.

Draco was doing the same thing on the other side of the clearing. His breathing deep, he was focusing all his attention and concentration on his beautiful wife. He pictured her gorgeous body, her silky hair beneath his fingers. After a couple of hours of this meditation and concentration work, Draco suddenly felt something familiar. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time, too long. He felt the presence of another being inside him and it made him smile lightly.

"_Draco…_" Hermione's voice sounded in his mind. Draco smiled slightly and tried to send his own message back to her.

"_Mia, I love you…." _Draco said, the smile playing on his lips.

"_Can you really hear me_?" Hermione's voice echoed again.

"_Yes, I missed this_." Draco replied.

"_Me, too, Draco_." Hermione replied and then her 'presence' was gone.

Draco opened his eyes slowly, readjusting to the bright sunshine that shone down on them. The small smile was still playing on his lips as he looked across the clearing to see his wife with her eyes open, staring right back at him and the same small smile on her lips as well. Snape was sitting off to the side of the clearing at a desk that he had conjured sometime in the last two hours that the couple was concentrating. He glanced up momentarily and saw the newlyweds staring at each other across the clearing with clearly evident smiles plastered on their faces.

"What are you two doing?" Snape asked, not sure if they were completely oblivious to everything around them.

"We did it." Draco said, not moving his eyes from his wife's. Hermione giggled suddenly like a little school girl and Snape looked at her strangely.

"What has gotten into you, Miss Granger…excuse me, I mean Mrs. Malfoy?" Snape asked warily, still not used to calling Hermione, 'Mrs. Malfoy'. She giggled in response to him and Severus watched her cheeks suddenly become a deep crimson.

The two stood up suddenly and Draco winked at his wife. "Well, Severus, I think we'll be calling it a day now."

Hermione matched Draco's smile and walked over to him, placing her arm around his waist. He returned the gesture by placing his own arm around her shoulders and placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. Snape was too stunned for words at their sudden moods and simply stared at the couple as they walked away and headed back towards the castle. He shook his head, muttering something about young love.

The couple made their way through the grounds and the castle, stopping momentarily in the Great Hall where dinner was just starting. They walked through the doors, arms still wrapped around each other, strode up to the make-shift places at the professor's table where McGonagall had sanctioned them to sit. They quickly served themselves and carried on a conversation in their minds (mostly because they were so excited that they could again!) as they ate.

"_So, Mrs. Malfoy_," Draco said to her telepathically, a small twinkle in his eye. "_What do you plan on doing tonight?_" He winked at her suggestively.

Hermione suppressed a giggle. "_Draco! I'm trying to eat! And I don't know what I'm doing tonight, I haven't had a free night pretty much since we got here_."

"_Well, I might have some ideas_." Draco wagged his eyebrows at her, causing Hermione to no longer be able to suppress the giggle.

The two finished their dinners quickly and, after saying a few words to the other professors seated at the table, they made their way out of the Great Hall (passed all of the still gossiping students that recognized them still) and trudged up the many flights of stairs to their guest quarters. Upon entering, Hermione almost immediately went into the bedroom and launched herself happily onto the large four-poster bed, hips turned up in a grand smile and her hair falling around her head as it eased itself slowly from the ponytail she had it in. Draco followed her into their room and chortled as he watched her jump childishly onto their bed. He leaned against the doorframe and chuckled blissfully as he watched his wife. He hadn't seen her truly happy like this in much too long. Suddenly deciding on something, he went and sat down beside her on the bed.

"Hey, why don't you go get dressed up and let me take you out." Draco said, leaning down on his side next to his wife and kissing her on the neck, causing another wild giggle to erupt from her.

Hermione just nodded. It sounded like fun, they hadn't been out together in a very long time. They'd only been reunited for a little over two months and so far they'd barely had a week to themselves without the focus of training or the war that was raging. Truth was, Hermione missed her husband. She missed just being together, without all the added stress of everything else. She missed their daughter too, having only seen her a couple short times during the last two months that they'd been at Hogwarts.

She pulled herself off of the bed and quickly scrambled into the bathroom to shower and get ready. Turning on the water, she pulled her clothes off and stepped into the steaming stream and sighed loudly as the rough torrents blasted into her back. Hermione quickly washed her hair and everything else then stepped out from the shower, turning off the steaming water. Wrapping a soft, dark green robe around herself, she made her way into the bedroom to look for something to wear. After a couple moments of staring into their wardrobe, she realized that she hadn't bothered to bring anything besides training clothes and nightclothes. Smiling a mischievous grin, she quickly pulled out a nightgown and laid it on the bed. Visualizing what she want, she grabbed her wand off the bedside table and muttered a quick spell, transfiguring her nightgown into a elegant but simple, off the shoulder, deep crimson dress. She went back into the closet and pulled out a pair of sneakers which she then proceeded to transfigure into an elegant pair of deep crimson heels to match the dress.

Smiling to herself, she slipped the robe off of her naked figure and stepped into the 'new' dress. Realizing that she unfortunately couldn't reach the zipper in the back, she grabbed her wand once again and, muttering another spell that she learned from Parvati during fourth year, her zipper pulled itself up. Pointing at the fallen robe, she said a quick drying spell and pulled it on over her dress, not wanting Draco to see it just yet. Mentally thanking herself for remembering her makeup bag (though at the time she wasn't sure why she had brought it), she strolled happily into the bathroom to finish getting ready. Draco was already in there, looking absolutely handsome as always in a simple black silk, dress shirt and dress slacks. He was running some smoothing salve into his blonde locks and combing it to it's normal perfection. Hermione chuckled at him in the mirror and caught his eye. He turned around to face her and gave her a small kiss.

"You aren't ready yet?" Draco questioned, but still had a smile on his lips.

"I'll be much more ready as soon as you finish your 'beautifying rituals'." Hermione answered, winking at him.

Bending slightly and placing another chaste kiss on her cheek, he left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Walking to the mirror, Hermione pulled her wand from her robe pocket and quickly set into doing her hair. Normally she would have done it the muggle way, but seeing as that took forever with her hair, she decided to cheat for the night and use magic. After quickly drying and straightening her luscious golden brown locks, she pulled her hair off her neck and fastened it in a sophisticated half- French twist, leaving long pieces hanging down over the top of the twist. Using her wand again, she rapidly began twisting strands of the hanging pieces into elegant ringlets (silently thanking Parvati and Lavender for insisting she learn how). In no time, her hair was perfect--she had even added a few sparkling pins to give it a truly elegant look, leaving just a couple small ringlets framing her face. Pulling out her makeup bag, she hastily went into the easy task of applying her makeup (which she always did the muggle way but after so many years of practice, it only took her a couple minutes to finish).

Ten minutes after she had entered the bathroom, she smiled at herself in the mirror--completely ready for a night out with her husband. Leaving the bathroom, she returned to the bedroom and slid into her transfigured heels. Pulling out her wand once again, she transfigured her watch into a small black clutch purse and slipped her wand into it. Sliding her robe off her shoulders and laying it on the end of the bed as she always did, she glanced one more time in the full length mirror that was on the wall and took off to the common room where Draco was waiting for her.

When she entered the commons, however, she was surprised to find it empty. She looked in the bathroom again but Draco was not there either. Becoming increasingly curious, she went back into the commons and that's when she noticed the parchment lying on the coffee table between the couch and the fireplace.

_Mia, my love,_

_Meet me in the Entrance Hall. _

_Love,_

_Draco_

Hermione smiled again at this and hurriedly left their guest quarters and headed for the Entrance Hall. She quickly and excitedly made her way down the staircases, practically skipping in anticipation. When she finally reached the main stairs to the Entrance Hall, she looked down and there was her loving husband waiting by the doors, leaning sexily on the wall--a single red rose in his hand.

Draco looked up when he heard the distinct sound of high heels tapping their way down the staircase and his eyes widened in awe at the beautiful creature moving towards him. He was impressed at this because there had never been anyone in his entire life that could continuously take his breath away like Hermione. She was wearing a deep crimson dress that came down to just above her knees, tight around the bodice and off the shoulder then flowing around her from the waist to her knees. Her hair was sparkling and she looked like a beautiful angel.

The first time he saw her, really saw her, was during the Yule Ball their fourth year when she was on the arm of Viktor Krum. Never before had he ever noticed how exquisite a witch she was, but of course, he would never tell her. If anyone had told him back then, or any time up until the summer before their seventh year, that he would be standing here waiting for Hermione and she would be his wife, he would've laughed in their faces and probably beat them to a pulp for even considering that he'd bed, let alone marry, a Mudblood. But now as he looked up at the radiant beauty that was his wife, walking down the staircase in front of him, he couldn't imagine his life without her in it.

When Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs, Draco came to her and she took his offered hand and the rose. Draco bent down and kissed her lovingly on the cheek before escorting her out the doors. Hermione smiled at the carriage awaiting them and allowed Draco to help her step inside. The couple went into Hogsmeade and had a romantic candlelight dessert (since they had already eaten just a little under two hours ago at the castle) at one of Hogsmeade's most exquisite restaurants, The Silver Eagle. Draco presented Hermione with a beautiful ruby and diamond necklace that he had purchased by owl mail a couple weeks prior. Afterwards, they walked through Hogsmeade and back to the castle, hand in hand, enjoying the beautiful evening that was around them and in no hurry to go anywhere.

After retreating to their quarters, the settled on the couch in front of a roaring fire, and Draco lovingly massaged Hermione's feet. A few minutes into the massage, Draco's touches became more intimate and eventually they both found themselves with their clothes strewn about the room and lying under a warm blanket on the floor in front of the fire. Hermione saw a fire burning in Draco's eyes that she had not seen for a long time and they connected themselves that night in ecstasy. It felt as if they were giving themselves to each other for the first time all over again, the passion and the fire lingering between them like an crackling electric explosion.

Hermione fell asleep blissfully content in Draco's arms that night, in front of the dwindling fire, still naked and glistening with sweat. Just before she drifted off into sleep, she realized that very soon, her time would come--the time when she finally stood before Voldemort and either walked away victorious or succumbed to defeat.

But surprisingly, the latter didn't seem to bother Hermione anymore because deep down, she knew she would survive.


	17. Fears Unveiled

**A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a little while since the last update but unfortunately I havent been able to write quite as often seeing as I just started a new job. But the good news, well I supposed it could also be sort of bad for those of you who like this story, is that there are only a few chapters left. The story is definately climaxing and will be over soon. **

**On another note--dont forget to go out and get your copy of GOF tomorrow! (well this morning anyway lol)--at least for those of us in the US because I have no clue when it comes out anywhere else!**

**Will update soon! Till next time**

**Kai_

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_Chapter Sixteen: Fears Unveiled_

Back at 12 Grimmauld Place, the other Order members were having a weekly meeting. They had been waiting patiently (well impatiently in some cases such as Ron) for word from Snape as to how Hermione's training was progressing. The last couple owls had mentioned that he did not think it would be too much longer until she was ready, her training was going very well. At the moment, the group was sitting around the dining room table awaiting the evenings owl from Severus. Fifteen minutes after the meeting began, a black raven swooped in through the open window and dropped a letter into Remus' waiting hands. Ron tentatively held his breath, half wanting his friend to be ready finally and the other half terrified of what would happen if she was.

Remus hastily read the post from Severus and his face took on a strange look, somewhere between relief and concern. He read and re-read the letter a couple times before Ron broke his concentration by impatiently exclaiming.

"Come on, Lupin!" Ron said. "What does Snape say?"

Breaking from his concentration, Remus looked up at Ron's outburst and noticed the members at the table staring at him in anxious anticipation. He glanced down at the parchment in his hands once more and then back at the members with a small, but unsettling smile.

"It appears that Snape believes she's ready. She and Draco have re-established their connection to each other and both of them have pretty much mastered their skills." Remus said, addressing the others. "Hermione has mastered control of her new powers and has even been able to forgo her wand a few times. Draco has been steadily mastering his wandless and wordless magics as well, having been very stubborn on the fact that he will be fighting along side her."

Ron winced at the thought of the now definite battle that would be coming much soon than he had hoped for and also at the knowledge that Malfoy would be there along side him and Hermione. It wasn't that he still held a grudge against Malfoy, but including him in the same 'group' as Hermione and himself was like replacing Harry, and that was something that he was never really prepared to do. As Remus began talking about the upcoming battle and what would happen, Ron allowed himself to daze from the conversation and go off into his own thoughts. He let his mind wander to his best friend, and the void that was left in between him and Hermione at Harry's death over two years ago. He missed his friend like he would miss his own brother, it was a hole that burned deep into his heart and soul and nothing would fill that void…ever.

Ron snapped his attention from the thoughts of Harry back to Remus who was discussing the next meeting, when Draco and Hermione would return to the house and they would finally discuss the next step--planning their attack. His heart sank at the thought of what might happen when that battle did come, for he knew it would not be easy and he knew that some of them would not make it. The meeting dispersed and Ron made his way, with his father and brothers, back to the Burrow, where he went directly to his room without speaking a word to anyone.

He laid down on his bed and just stared at the ceiling, taking in everything that was going on or would be going on very soon. He tried desperately to convince himself that everything was going to be fine but deep down he couldn't deny he was terrified beyond anything he'd ever feared before--even the giant spiders that wanted to eat them for dinner their second year at Hogwarts. He was terrified for himself, because he knew he would be fighting right along side Hermione and nothing anyone told him would change that--not even Draco Malfoy. He was terrified for the other members of the Order because he knew that some of them would not make it through. He was terrified for his goddaughter in case one or both her parents did not make it. He was terrified for Draco, even though he'd never truly seen eye to eye with the ex-Slytherin ferret boy, he was still Hermione's husband and Ron couldn't bear to see Hermione in the kind of pain she would be if anything happened to him. But most of all, Ron was terrified beyond belief at the possibility of losing another one of his best friends. If Hermione didn't survive her fight, Ron was sure he'd die as well--of loneliness and a broken heart.

He passed into an uneasy sleep, a lone tear falling from his eye.

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Draco awoke the next morning just as the sun began peaking over the horizon through their window. Last night had been purely magical and he still felt the after-effects of their love making. He cuddled closer to Hermione, wrapping his arm tightly around her and nuzzling her neck. She let out a satisfying sigh and relaxed further into his arms. She blinked her eyes open, letting them adjust to the light beaming through the window and sighed happily once again. 

Smiling contentedly, she leaned back against Draco's chest and sent her love in their renewed sense. '_Morning, my love._'

Suddenly the arms around Hermione tensed and Draco rolled to his back, sighing loudly. He stared up at the ceiling, the sudden realization of what would happen that day brought reality crashing down on him. Snape had told them once that when the time came when they were finally able to re-link themselves and access their connection, they would no longer need to train--they would be ready to fight. Which meant, unfortunately, that today would take them back to Grimmauld Place, back to the Order and back to the fight. Hermione sensed his tension when he rolled to his back and turned over to see what was happening.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, propping herself up on her elbow and caressing his bare chest with her other hand.

"Just realized what we have to do now." Draco replied, still staring at the ceiling and absentmindedly twirling Hermione's long curls in his fingers. "We have to go back now."

Hermione sighed. "I know, but cant we at least have one more morning, one more moment without thinking about what's going to happen? About Voldemort and this stupid war?"

Draco pulled Hermione towards him, gathering him into his arms and pulling her head to rest beneath his chin. He lovingly kissed the top of her head.

"As wonderful as that sounds, love," Draco said, stroking her hair. "I think that we need to concentrate on this and get it over with as soon as possible. The sooner Voldemort's sorry ass is gone, the sooner we can have wonderful mornings together for the rest of our lives."

"And what if…" Hermione said quietly. "What if I, um, don't make it? What if we don't make it?"

Draco reached down and pulled her chin up so that she was looking at him. "Don't ever talk like that, don't even think it. You will make it through this, Mia, sweetheart. We both will. I promise you."

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Back at Grimmauld Place, the sun was high through the windows, streaming sunlight into the dusty old house. Ron had awoken early that morning, not being able to sleep very well the night before, and Flooed almost immediately to headquarters. Something pulled him there, a deep feeling that he hadn't truly felt in over a year. 

Now, as the sunlight streaked through the house, he stood in the middle of the unused room on the second floor. The room that once housed his best friend. With all that was happening it was as if his death was replaying in Ron's mind. The night found him plagued with visions of the day he was killed replaying themselves over and over in his mind. He could almost hear Voldemort's fatal curse and Hermione screams filling his ears again. As he stood in Harry's old room, he could almost hear his laughter as the three of them talked and hung out together during the summer before seventh year. Memories filled his mind as he sat down on the edge of the musty bed…no one had really been in this room for two long years--not since it happened.

And now, with what Ron knew would be the biggest fight of their lives now dreadfully looming just over the horizon, he couldn't help but be scared that this could be one of the few days that he and Hermione had left together on this earth. By the time this was over, one or both of them could be joining Harry. Ron had to talk to Hermione before that could happen. He had to let her know how he really felt and how much he cared about her. Even if she was married now. Even if she would never reciprocate those feelings. It didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was making sure that Hermione knew exactly how much she meant to him before it was too late.

Ron knew that Hermione and Draco were due to return to Headquarters that afternoon and there was an important meeting scheduled for that night. It wouldn't be much time, but he didn't need very much. Giving the room one more slow glance, he lowered his eyes and walked from the room, closing the door once again behind him.

Two short hours after awaking, Hermione and Draco had packed up their belongings and had them sent to Headquarters. They had said goodbye once again to Minerva and thanked Snape for helping them for the last couple months and were now traveling on the Hogwart's Express yet again, heading back to King's Cross where they would Floo back to Grimmauld Place. Hermione's nerves were climbing again and Draco was becoming more distant as his nerves took him over as well. Both knew what was going to be coming soon and neither of them could speak about what might happen for it was terrifying to them both.

They arrived at the station and immediately (though somewhat reluctantly) Flooed to Grimmauld Place. Stepping from the fireplace, they looked up and were somewhat surprised to see Ron sitting there in the sitting room staring at the fireplace they had just arrived in.

"Ron?" Hermione asked, startled by the presence of her best friend waiting in what she thought was going to be a deserted house. "What are you doing here?"

Ron looked up at Hermione and she could see the worry etched into his features. " I was waiting for you."

"Why? Did something happen? Is everyone alright?" Hermione asked quickly, thinking that something had happened. "Oh Merlin, is it alexis?"

Ron just shook his head solemnly. "No, no. Everyone's alright, 'Mione. But, um, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Hermione looked at her best friend and could tell that something was seriously bothering the redhead.

"In private." Ron said, looking at Draco with pleading eyes.

Draco looked to his wife who nodded her head. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room for the two best friends to talk. Ron watched Draco's retreating form until the door to the room closed tightly behind him before turning once again to Hermione who was now sitting down in the chair beside him, a concerned expression on her face.

"Ron, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence that had fallen on the room after her husband's departure. She reached a hand out and laid in gently and lovingly on Ron's arm.

Ron looked up into her eyes and Hermione could see the worry deep in the normally bright blue orbs.

"Hermione, I'm scared and I needed to talk to you. Before the others get here, before things get serious." Ron said, more quietly than usual.

"Ron, I know. I'm scared too but we knew that this time was going to come eventually. It's inevitable now, you know that." Hermione said, trying to comfort her friend.

"No, you don't understand, Hermione." Ron said, pulling his arm from her hand and standing, walking over to the window. "Don't you get it? You're all I have left and I….I don't know what I'll do if I lose you too! I….I love you 'Mione, I always have."

Hermione's face dropped at his confession but she felt his fear and stood, crossing the room to stand next to him. "I'm not going anywhere, Ron. I promise, you arent going to lose me."

Ron sighed and threw his hands up. "Don't promise that! You have no idea what is going to happen when you go up against Voldemort! What if he kills you too?"

"He's not going to win, Ronald. He's not going to get me, I'm ready for him this time." Hermione said, trying to calm him.

"So what? You think you're ready, 'Mione? Well, Harry thought he was ready too." Ron said and Hermione could see him shaking. "But it didn't matter did it? The bastard murdered him anyway and then laughed in our faces."

Hermione grabbed Ron's shoulders and pulled him to face her. She looked sternly up into his eyes that were threatening to overflow with unshed tears and cupped her hand on the side of his face.

"You listen to me, Ronald Weasley." She said sternly, but with a gentle tone. "Voldemort is not going to win this war. I give you my word, as your best friend. You and I will make it through this and we will win….I promise you that."

The two best friends stared at each other for a few moments, neither speaking a word. Finally, Ron lowered his eyes slightly from hers and threw his arms tightly around her. They held on to each other tightly for a couple minutes, allowing them to seek comfort in each other. When they finally pulled away from each other, Hermione took his hand in hers and looked at him once more.

"Don't worry, Ron," She began, a small smile showing on her lips. "With you and me side by side, we can survive anything."

Ron returned a small smile and the two friends walked from the room to join Draco and the other members who were slowly starting to trickle into the house.


	18. Crashing Back Into Reality

_A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the lack of updates lately but you know the block I've been suffering for awhile now lol. Anyway, the good news is that here is the new chapter and there is probably only 2 maybe 3 chapters left of the series---sniffle sniffle--okay so maybe that's not entirely good news. At least that's what I plan but who really knows lol. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, not too much action or anything but it's vital to the story for the last couple chapters.**

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**Chapter Seventeen: Crashing Back Into Reality**

A couple hours after Ron and Hermione's talk, the Order meeting was starting. Everyone looked at Hermione and welcomed the couple back to the fold. Hermione a show of smiling at everyone and thanking them but inside, she was completely focused on the task and scared out of her wits. That talk with Ron made her crash back into the reality of what might happen if things didn't work out according to plan and, although she didn't show it at the time, it was scaring her to no end. As the meeting began, Draco took Hermione's hand on the table and caressed it caringly between his as he felt her start to shake a bit.

"Well first thing I'd like to say," Remus began after everyone was seated and paying attention. "is welcome back to Hermione and Draco after their two month venture to Hogwarts to train. It's good to have you both back with us and I'm proud of what you have both accomplished."

There were soft murmurs of appreciation around the table for a moment until Remus silenced them all once again with a slight raise of his hand.

"Now, unfortunately there is the need for us to continue on and discuss what we do next. As you all know, Voldemort is growing stronger still and according to Snape, has plans to attack the Ministry in two weeks. We cannot allow this to happen which means that we need to strike before this date."

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Draco felt her tense up and instinctively tightened his hold on her hand reassuringly. All around the table there were a mixture of approval and disapproval. Ron, especially, was having a very hard time dealing with this new information and he was not about to go unheard.

"You cant be serious, Remus!" Ron suddenly burst, shoving his chair backwards with such force that it toppled to the ground as he stood up and placed his hands on the table. "Two weeks? That is not enough time to prepare!"

"Please sit down, Ron." Remus said calmly. "You're right, it isn't much time but it's all we've got."

"There has to be another way." Ron replied sternly. "You cannot simply expect to just throw Hermione into the serpent's lair and everything will work out fine!"

"Ron, stop it." Hermione said in a small voice, feeling somewhat embarrassed that Ron mentioned her.

"No, Hermione, I won't stop it. I'm serious! There has to be a better way to go about all this. I mean seriously, Harry was the 'chosen one' for YEARS and yet the Order never threw him into the middle of battle simply because of who he was! Why can't they do the same thing with you!"

Hermione wasn't going to sit there and let Ron talk to her like that or about her like she was some kind of incapable child. She stood up hastily and got right into Ron's face.

"You listen here, Ronald Weasley." Her voice was stern and low and Ron could tell she was dead serious. "Don't you **_ever _**compare me to Harry. What happened to our best friend was tragic and should never have happened but like I told you before, Ronald, that will NOT happen to me. Now, sit down and shut that overly large mouth of yours before I shut it for you."

And with that, Hermione sat back down huffily, leaving Ron staring at her disbelieving and the others around the table unsure as to what exactly just happened. After a few minutes of unsettling silence, Ron turned and darted from the room and out of Headquarters. He needed time to clear his head. He was embarrassed that he had lost control like that in the middle of a meeting, furious and frustrated at Hermione for confronting him like she did and furious with himself for letting his emotions get the best of him. Ron stomped his way through the left over puddles from the previous day's rainfall and headed across the street and down the block to a nearby park. When he reached the park, he sat himself down on the first bench he saw and took a deep breath. Barely a moment after he sat, however, he was startled by a rustling sound from the bushes behind him but before he could turn around to investigate, he heard a low but somewhat familiar voice shout.

"_Stupefy_!" And everything went black.

* * *

After the door slammed through the house, there was a brief moment of silence around the table before Hermione spoke up, asking to continue the meeting.

"Sorry about Ron, he's being a selfish git at the moment." Hermione said quietly. "Please, continue Remus."

Remus looked at Hermione concernedly for a moment before continuing. "As I was saying, due to these recent developments, I believe we have less than two weeks to come up with a fool-proof plan to finally end this bloody war. If Voldemort gets a hold of the Ministry, all hope is lost."

Immediately ideas began filling up the air around the table as almost everyone started talking at the same time with their concerns and ideas on how to go about everything.

"Why don't we just continue the previous plan?" Hermione asked quietly but no one seemed to realize she had spoken. No one, that is, except Draco of course who just happened to be sitting very close to her.

"Are you sure you still want to do that, Mia?" Draco asked, leaning in closer to his wife and noticing the solemn and downcast look on her face.

Hermione simply nodded her head lightly, without looking up and meeting Draco's piercing gaze. Draco just stared at her for a few moments curiously before standing up and clearing his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. It took a couple minutes to do, however, until he finally caught Remus' eye and Remus raised his hands and the table quieted. When everyone was settled down for the moment, Remus nodded to Draco and Hermione and Draco nudged Hermione to get her to speak up.

"I was asking why we cant simply go along with the previous plan? Like we were planning before Jeremy turned his back on us." Hermione said, not really looking at everyone and spitting out her former friend's name like it was something disgusting.

The members looked at each other for a few minutes, no one really speaking until Remus once again spoke up.

"Well perhaps we should vote on it. All in favor of continuing with the previous plan?" Remus asked, surveying the hands that raised up around the table. "And all in favor of coming up with a new plan?"

After tallying the votes, Hermione's plan won out and they went to work discussing what exactly they were going to do again and forming groups. The meeting lasted another two hours and it was just as everyone was beginning to clean up and disperse that Hermione realized that Ron had never returned. That wasn't really like him, sure he was a selfish git at times but he cared about Hermione and the Order and would never miss an entire meeting….unless….

Just then, before Hermione could really ask or even finish her thought, the front door burst open and she heard a deadened thud in the entry way. Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Lupin immediately darted towards the front door to see what the commotion was. Draco hung back in the kitchen until he heard a deafening scream that he immediately knew as Hermione's. Dropping what he was doing he dashed as fast as he could into the hallway leading to the front door and skidded to a stop at the scene before him.

There was Ron Weasley, lying on the floor covered in blood, apparently barely breathing but still struggling to speak to the two women kneeling beside him--his mother and Hermione. Hermione was sobbing more quietly now, cradling Ron's head in her lap, covering herself in his blood. Molly was crying silently, rubbing his bloody hand in her own and stroking the blood-soaked hair from his forehead. Draco inched closer to the scene and could just barely make out the words that Ron was trying to say.

"Death…Eaters…wa-watching…" He choked out, his voice rasping. "Fol--following…us. Want Her-mi-o-ne. Don't….don't go…out…side."

Hermione was nodding her head gently at Ron's sputtering, her eyes still overflowing slightly with now silent tears. Draco could tell that she was having a very hard time with this, seeing as Ron was all she had left--aside from himself and their daughter of course but a best friend is something entirely different then a husband.

Arthur interrupted the scene at that moment and forced Ron from the women's clutches, saying that he needed to get his son to St. Mungo's and that their blubbering was not helping him. The women nodded slightly and allowed Arthur to pick his son up in his arms and rush him to the backyard where he immediately Apparated to St. Mungo's (they would have Flooed but it was too dangerous seeing as they weren't exactly sure what had happened to Ron). Draco took the opportunity to pick his wife up off the floor and help her upstairs to their bedroom. Hermione was still in almost a state of shock after seeing her best friend nearly dead on the floor like that.

Draco sat down on their bed and pulled Hermione gently down beside him, where she continue to simply stare off into space.

"Mia, baby?" Draco asked gently, pushing her hair back away from her face.

Hermione stayed silent, however, for a few moments before very quietly speaking.

"This is it." She said so softly that Draco barely could make out what she said.

"What was that, honey?"

"I said, this is it. That bastard has taken one too many stabs at my life and my family and this is it." She repeated, her voice growing louder until she was practically yelling the last part. She jumped off of the bed and began pacing the room.

"I'm going to kill that bastard one way or another. I've completely had it with this shit!" Hermione was practically screaming as she paced back and forth.

"Mia, sweetheart. Please, you've got to calm down. Remember what happens when you lose control?" Draco said nervously, trying to calm his wife.

Hermione simply snickered, an almost evil gleam in her eyes as she stopped pacing and looked at her husband, her eyes twinkling in a way that almost scared Draco.

"I am calm, Draco." She said simply. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen that I don't want to happen. But I can tell you that this, what happened to Ron, is the final straw. Voldemort will fall and it will happen very, very soon."

Hermione went back to pacing the room slowly, her eyes still twinkling menacingly and a very unsettling smile on her face as Draco simply sat there and watched his wife, becoming slightly frightened at her new disposition.


	19. Phase One Begins

**A/N: hey again! sorry for such the long time between updates but ending this series is much harder than i had thought or hoped. i know i had said only 2 or 3 chapters left but now i'm looking at 3, 4 or possibly more to get it just right. this chapter is sort of a 2 parter and i promise that i'll try to get chapter 19 to you as soon as possible (i'm about half way through it at the moment). hope you all enjoy! **

**till next time**

**kai_

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_Chapter Eighteen: Phase One Begins_

For the next few days, the Order members went into action mode. They were working almost continuously around the clock, double checking information, reviewing and memorizing strategies, until each member could almost perform the tasks they were assigned in their sleep. Hermione was in hard core mode, barely sleeping, barely eating. Continuously working out in the make-shift gym that was set up in the basement of the house and when she wasn't doing that, she was perfecting every new spell that she had learned. She had persuaded Draco to join her in her practicing again, convincing him to duel with her repeatedly until she was positive that no one could stand in her way.

Three times in the last four days, she had snuck away from everyone to review in the library as much of the history and scriptures that she could find about the Book. When she was positive no one was around to catch her, she would pull out the parchment containing the incantation that she was going to need to resurrect her best friend. She had found it about a year or so ago, while doing research before she had been captured and held hostage all those months and had been relieved to know that somehow it had still been hidden among all her papers and research that Draco had kept safe after she disappeared. Inside, Hermione was suffering terrible stress and fear and anxiousness but on the outside, she conveyed as much of a calm, cool, and collected appearance as she could muster. She wanted everyone around her to believe in her and trust her to accomplish this task, no matter what they might think.

When she did happen to find a moment or two to spare, you could find her Apparating secretly to St. Mungo's to see Ron, who was seemingly recovering fairly and the healers expected him to be alright in due time but the possibility of him accompanying Hermione on this vital mission were growing impossibly slim. It was something that Hermione had never really considered. Ron had always been there, whenever she needed someone--especially after Harry's death. And now to have to face the reality that this was one mission that she would have to go through alone (of course Draco would be there, which she was immensely grateful for, but it wasn't Ron, it just wasn't the same) and the thought that her best friend would not be by her side at her greatest time of need was just a lot to grasp. Unfortunately, Hermione did not have the time to dwell on this for the day that all things would be decided was growing increasingly closer at an almost alarming speed.

Before anyone really knew what was happening, Phase One was beginning….

Phase One consisted of a select group of members, including Hermione and Draco of course, as well as Moody, Lupin, Tonks, and a few of the Bulgarian recruits that Viktor had brought into the fold, ambushing an unexpecting Malfoy Manor where Snape had reported that Voldemort was still hiding out at. The Book was there and before anything else could happen, Hermione needed to gain possession of it. This phase was simply to get the book and get out as quickly as possible. It would take place that night, just after midnight in hopes that the late hour might make it slightly easier to get in and out quickly than during the evening when there was likely to be more Death Eaters roaming through the manor.

As the day wore on, Hermione and Draco were supposed to be resting a bit and preparing themselves for the night's mission but instead, Hermione was growing more and more anxious and scared as the hours and minutes passed on and Draco was becoming more concerned with his wife and her well being. She was visually distracted and anxious, jumping whenever someone seemed to startle her out of whatever it was she was thinking about…which was pretty much a constant thing that day. Finally, after a couple hours of watching Hermione seemingly torment herself, Draco literally dragged her away upstairs to their bedroom and forced his wife to lie down, sliding into bed beside her and pulling her close, stroking her hair lovingly.

"Hermione, sweetheart," Draco murmured to his wife. "You've got to relax a little or you're going to lose it tonight. I know it's hard, I know whats going on in that mind of yours but please, for me, take a couple hours and just relax."

"I can't Draco!" Hermione started at her husband, trying to get back up from the bed but Draco kept her close, refusing to allow her up. "Come on, I've got things to do. I've got to practice and research a bit and…well, there' s just a million things to do before the mission tonight."

"No, Mia. You're gonna lie here with me, your husband, and we're going to take a well deserved sleep for two hours. Now, stop struggling."

Hermione yanked herself from her husband's grasp and jerked up from the bed, whirling around to face him and practically yelling at him.

"Bloody hell, Draco! This is NOT the time to relax, this is the time to prepare ourselves! Do you realize that if I'm not ready, I could die tonight! Why do you insist on getting in my way like this? Do you even give a shit about anyone but yourself?"

Hermione immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, not believing that she had just said that to her husband. Draco obviously noticed it, though because his icy eyes narrowed threateningly and he slowly moved off the bed to face her. Hermione opened her mouth to retract her last comment but Draco beat her to it, holding up a hand sternly to stop her.

"I don't even want to hear it, Hermione." Draco said slowly, his voice low and full of anger and hurt. "I've heard the same speech far too many times over the past couple years. Every time something happens, every time we fight, you always resort to something that has to do with me not caring or not loving you. If you honestly believe that I don't give a damn what happens to you, then you can go to hell. I've spent the last two and a half years bending over backwards to show you how much I love you and how much you mean to me but obviously none of it means a bloody thing to you. I am done trying to help you realize this and prove myself to you because, obviously, itwill never be enough to satisfy you. So, if you want to spend the rest of the day driving yourself crazy and probably cause yourself to get killed tonight because you are too stressed out and worked up to think straight, then you know what, Hermione? Go bloody ahead because I don't give a DAMN anymore!"

Draco screamed the last part at his wife, his blood boiling in hurt and anger that regardless of what his wife may be feeling that she would ever even have the gall to say that he didn't care about her. Everything he ever did was for her. His normally pale face was flushed with rage as he narrowed his eyes even more at Hermione and stormed passed her, slamming the door on his way out.

Hermione watched him leave, letting the tears she had been forcing back during his monologue to flow from her eyes. She really didn't believe that he didn't care about her. She knew deep down that he was only doing what was best but she couldn't help herself to taking all of her frustrations out on the person she was supposed to love more than life itself. Draco was right, every time the two had problems or there was something important that Hermione was doing, Hermione would always take all her frustrations out on Draco, no matter what Draco did, and tell him that he didn't care what happened to her since he kept trying to distract her from what she was doing. Hermione never meant any of it and she never knew why she did it but now was not the time for Draco to lose it with her. She needed him, more than anyone or anything right now.

She allowed herself to fall onto the bed, her tears streaming down her face as she drifted unwillingly into a deep and uneasy sleep that was plagued with nightmares of what might happen that night. Hermione was awoken only a short hour or so later by Tonks who was telling her that the meeting was starting and that she was needed downstairs.

Hermione quickly pulled herself from the bed and went to the bathroom, washing her face free of all the red stains from her tears. She quickly changed into something pure black and easy to move in (a simple pair of tight black leggings and a black, long sleeved shirt) and tied her hair back in a tight ponytail so that it wouldn't get in her way. She made sure that she had removed all jewelry she was wearing--except her wedding ring which she absolutely refused to take off. Taking a deep breath, she took one last look in the mirror, grabbed her wand from the bathroom counter and headed downstairs to the final meeting.

When she arrived in the sitting room, she realized that she was definitely the last one to arrive in the room. Everyone literally stopped what they were doing or saying as soon as she stepped into the room and looked at her. Hermione stopped in her tracks as all eyes in the room locked and her and she unconsciously scanned the room for one pair of pale blue-grey eyes that she found in the back corner of the room, staring at her with intently. The couple locked eyes for a moment or two before Hermione quickly blinked and turned her head, making her way to the middle of the room where Lupin and Moody where motioning her over. She couldn't think about the problems between her and Draco right now, if she let her mind wander from it's task then people would surely die.

After going silencing the room and going over, once again, the exact plans that every group had on that night's mission, the Order stood and made their way to the backyard where they would be Apparating from in groups. Hermione stood by a large tree, willing herself not to think of her husband and the awful words that were said earlier between them as she waited impatiently and nervously for her turn to go. There were only two people in her 'group'…herself and Draco. All the other groups were supposed to head in first to distract the Death Eaters while Hermione and Draco (who was her 'watcher') went straight to the Book and gave the signal before Apparating back to Grimmauld Place.

Suddenly she was snapped back to reality by the distant presence that leaned against the tree beside her. Hermione glanced to her side and saw Draco leaning against the tree, his wand in hand and his arms folded in defeat across his toned chest, his pale eyes downcast. He spoke quietly to her without once ever raising his eyes to hers.

"No matter what is going on between us, my job is to watch your back and I intend to see that you make it back here safely." Draco said to her, before quickly raising his eyes for a split second to catch her and walk away from her again.

Hermione watched him move away from her for a moment before hergut kicked in and she screamed after him.

"Draco, wait!" She called through the crowd around them that were also waiting for the signal to go. Draco stopped for a half of a second before continuing to make his way towards Blaise.

Hermione felt the tears once again swelling behind her eyes and allowed herself to slouch back against the tree. This time allowed the tears to flow freely as she slid down the tree trunk to a crouching position on the hard ground. Anyone who asked her, she would simply tell them that it was the stress but that she would be fine in a few minutes.

After what felt like an eternity, Lupin silenced everyone and told them that it was time. Hermione wiped her eyes on her sleeve quickly, standing up and trying to look as determined and ready as possible. In groups of five, the rest of the Order began Disapparating from the backyard and Hermione felt her pulse begin to quicken and she breathed deeply in attempt to keep herself as calm as possible. When the last group was left (aside from Draco and herself), Lupin made his way to Hermione to make sure she was ready. She nodded her head defiantly to show she was ready and Lupin reminded her that the signal was her wand glowing green for a moment. If it glowed red that meant that they had ran into a problem and she was to stay put. Nodding once again in understanding, Lupin patted her on the shoulder lovingly and made his way back to the final group. Locking eyes with the young girl once more, he gave a simple nod to his group and the quickly Disapparated, leaving Draco and Hermione alone in the yard.

She took a deep breath as her eyes searched the darkened yard in search of her husband. She finally found him crouched by another tree, his head down and it looked as if he was muttering to himself. She approached him silently and stopped to listen for a moment when she was close enough to hear him.

"Please, Merlin. Keep my love safe. Even if you have to take me, get her through this please." Draco was whispering, his head down.

Once again, Hermione felt her heart flutter in pain as she realized that her husband was praying to Merlin for her safety. Not theirs, not his own, but hers. This touched her deeply.

"Draco?" She said quietly, trying not to startle her obviously terrified husband from his reverie. He snapped his head up and stood abruptly when he saw her standing a few feet from him.

They stared at each other for a couple of minutes before Hermione's hand felt warm and she looked down to see her wand was glowing a bright, eerie green color. Her breath caught in her throat and she turned her eyes to Draco, whose were showing the same fear that she knew was reflecting in her own. They were supposed to hold hands (mostly so that neither got lost and that they would stay together the entire time) and stand back to back, their wands at the ready in front of them because they were going to be Apparating directly into the midst of a room deep in Malfoy Manor and who knew exactly who or what could possibly be waiting there. Draco said that it was one of the only rooms in the entire manor that allowed Apparating, but you couldn't apparate out of it. It was deep in the dungeons under the manor so they gathered that it would probably be closer to the book seeing as Voldemort had more than likely wanted to keep it as far from the main known house as possible.

Hermione gulped deeply in fear and tried to get her hand to stop shaking long enough to reach forward so that Draco could take her hand. Draco's eyes met hers for a split moment before his hand shot out and grasped hers tightly. Hermione started to turn around but was pulled to Draco instead. She looked up into her husband's eyes as he started to speak.

"Look, Mia. Whatever happened earlier, I don't want to think about it. We're both scared and stressed out about all this shit that's going on and even though I'm still hurt and angry, I love you." He said quietly, looking deep into her eyes. "This is going to be dangerous and as much as neither of us want to admit it, one or even both of us stand a chance of not returning tonight. I don't want either of our last memories of each other to be anger and hurt. I love you, Hermione. You are my wife and I promise you, with every last fiber of my entire being that I will be right there with you, by your side for as long as I can. Keep tight hold on my hand and don't let go, no matter what happens. Promise me that, please?"

Hermione nodded, not wanting to open her mouth for fear that her nerves would take over and she'd start crying again. Draco leaned in and placed a loving, passionate kiss on her lips before breaking away and once again staring into her eyes.

"Are you ready to do this?"

Hermione took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment to collect herself and then nodded silently. They turned their backs to each other and tightened their grips on their hands. Draco began a countdown.

" Three…..Two…."

"Wait." Hermione said suddenly.

"What's wrong, Mia?" Draco asked concernedly, without breaking position.

"Nothing's wrong. I just didn't want to forget to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I love you, Draco."

Draco breathed deeply, a small, relieved smile on his lips as he resumed his countdown, knowing that she was ready now.

"One."

With that, the couple Disapparted from the backyard and landed almost immediately in a dark, cold room deep within the dungeons of Malfoy Manor.


	20. Success is Never Without A Price

_**Chapter Nineteen: Success is Never Without a Price**_

As soon as the landed in the cold, damp room, their senses kicked in and immediately both Draco and Hermione went into fight mode. There was no one else in the room but Draco knew that they were close by…waiting. The two of them scanned the room, double checking that there was no one waiting in the shadows to spring on them as soon as they moved their eyes. When Draco was positive that the room was clear, the two separated from their back to back positions and started making their way towards the door that led to the dungeon's hallway. Draco went through the door first, looking both ways to make sure that no one was within sight before pulling gently on Hermione's hand to bring her into the hallway with him. They stopped for a moment before heading in either direction as Hermione focused her senses and closed her eyes, trying to gain some sort of reading on the Book's power to judge which way to proceed. After a few silent moments, Hermione opened her eyes again and Draco could see the utter determination in those honey-brown orbs.

"This way." Hermione said confidently, turning left and heading down the hallway, Draco moving swiftly right beside her.

They traveled silently and swiftly through the winding dungeon hallways. They heard the battle sounds growing stronger and knew that they were getting closer to where the fight was taking place between the Death Eaters and the Order members. They inched their way closer and closer to the sounds until it was obvious that they were practically right on top of the fight. Draco held tightly to her hand as she determinedly led them through the maze of hallways, right past the door that obviously led to the battle. Draco stopped and pulled her back towards the door that led to the main part of the fighting but she tugged him onward.

"It's this way, Draco. I can feel it." Hermione said confidently and Draco just looked at her for a moment before nodding and continuing with her towards the other end of the dead end hallway.

They were almost at the door at the end of the corridor when suddenly a loud scream echoed through the hallway and Draco was shot into the stone wall, his hand tearing from his wife's. Another scream echoed through the corridor as Hermione screamed for her husband.

"Draco!" Hermione lunged for her husband but was caught off guard by a second spell that barely missed her. She landed on her knees beside her husband who was pretty much fine, just slightly dazed and bruised from hitting the wall.

"I told you I would make you pay, you filthy little blood traitor." A very familiar sneer drawled from the shadows behind them.

"You bastard!" Hermione screamed at Lucius and jumped to her feet, her wand still in hand and shouted the first spell she could think of.

" _Puteulanus Incendia! _," Hermione yelled at him but Lucius easily seemed to step to the side, the curse missing him completely.

"You pathetic excuse for a witch. Do you really think that I could not dodge something as puny as that? _Crucio _!" Lucius sneered and shot the Unforgivable at Hermione, who had luckily put up a shield charm around her and Draco wordlessly during Lucius' drawl.

The curse shot back at it's caster and smacked directly into Lucius' chest. It was very short lived, however, seeing as it was he who said the curse in the first place. Lucius simply stood even taller and scowled down at his daughter in law.

"Ah, so the pathetic little Mudblood my insolent son chose for a bride has a few tricks up her sleeve." He drawled, spinning his wand egotistically in his hand.

Hermione stood in front of her wounded husband who was now pulling himself staggeringly to his feet behind her. Her wand was pointed at Lucius' heart but all her father-in-law could do was chuckle maliciously.

"What's so funny there old man?" Draco's sneer sounded from behind his wife as he grasped her shoulder and pulled her back slightly to step somewhat in front of her, shielding her from whatever his no good excuse for a father might pull.

"I was just remembering our time together, Mudblood." Lucius drawled again, answering his son but staring directly into Hermione's eyes--which widened in sickening remembrance.

"You foul…you loathsome evil bastard!" Hermione screamed at the older male as she tried to make her way from behind her husband to attack Lucius, but Draco held her back.

"What's the matter, son? Don't want to let the Mudblood wreak her revenge or wait…do you not know how much I desecrated your little 'flower'?" Lucius sneered wickedly, his pale blue eyes twinkling evilly.

All of a sudden, the two Malfoy men began firing curses at each other, neither playing 'nice'. Draco was trying to shove Hermione down the hallway towards the last door that they had been heading to but Hermione's stubbornness prevailed and she stayed by his side, firing her own curses at the man who destroyed her once. The three fought back and forth, back and forth, with Draco inching Hermione and himself backwards towards the door.

"Hermione…GO!" Draco shouted again at his stubborn wife and caught her eye. She held his gaze for a split second before nodding slightly.

Hermione turned around and dashed as fast as she could towards the door at the end of the hall which was still about 12 yards down the hallway. She flung herself at the door just as she heard a sickening crunch from behind her. She wrestled for a moment with the door, shouting "_Alohamora" _but nothing would open the sealed doorway. Feeling the hairs prickling on the back of her neck, she stopped her struggling and turned around slowly when she realized that it was now silent behind her.

"_Expelliarmus! _" Hermione's wand flew from her hand as she turned and she slowly followed it to the outstretched hand of…Lucius Malfoy.

Hermione's eyes went wide with fear as the sudden reality of the situation seemed to smack into her like a brick wall. Her eyes cautiously scanned the hallway behind her father in law and landed on her husband--lying still on the hard floor, face down, the back of his pale blonde locks a reddish color with blood. She was suddenly hurled backwards into the stone wall and stuck to it as Lucius moved closer and closer.

"Well, well, well," Lucius sneered, a wicked smirk on his pale lips as he neared Hermione. "Look what we have here. It seems that there is something very familiar about this situation, isn't there Mudblood? Now, what is it? Hmm, ah yes. I quite recall you being in a very similar situation once before. And I must say, for a Mudblood, you were a tasty little thing."

He was directly in front of her now, his breath on her neck as she turned her face away from her father in law. Her honey brown eyes were squeezed tightly shut, willing the tears that were swelling up behind them to stay back. Suddenly she was aware of a cold finger moving from her jaw line down her neck and swallowed hard, trying to keep from outwardly shivering. The finger moved slowly down the side of her torso, tracing a cold thin line across her breast and her stomach, stopping at the edge of her jeans.

"Hmm, it appears my traitor of a son has taken good care of his little plaything." His cold drawl sounded against her neck. Hermione involuntarily shivered at this and a tear leaked down her cheek as she felt his hand grasp her breast.

Using all the force she could possibly grasp, she focused all her energy into her powers and tried to force the foul being touching her backwards. Suddenly, a moment later, she found that she could move her fingers again which was a good sign--this meant that she was fighting off the restraining spell. Almost just as suddenly, mere seconds after moving her fingers, Lucius was flung backwards down the hall, landing in a heap on the floor. Hermione slid down off the wall and stood in front of the now fuming man, a very dangerous and deadly glint in his eyes. She took a quick glance down at herself and saw that she was glowing a brilliant blue. She looked back at her assailant and smirked wickedly.

Lucius moved towards her but was forcefully stopped about five feet in front of her by what appeared to be a solid, invisible, wall. Knowing that the invisible barrier would last only a few moments (it was one of the things she learned during her training with Snape), she turned her attention to the door behind her and, holding one hand out towards it, palm facing it, she concentrated her energy and blasted the stone door open. Not even noticing that Lucius was no longer beating on the barrier and that it was once again quiet behind her, she let her instincts and determination take over as she entered the dark room and moved towards the center altar where the book lay, emitting a soft blue glow around it. She used her powers to light the room, seeing that there was no one waiting inside it, and made her way quickly to the glowing book. It was still incased in the granite tomb but she knew that the moment she touched it, the tomb would vanish and she would be able to grab hold of it.

Blocking out everything else, Hermione stepped up to the altar and placed her shaking hands on the top of the granite tomb.

"Cruor in meus vena est ut cruor ut redimio vos. Commodo ostendo sum ut mihi vestri specialis." **_(A/N: See bottom of chapter for translation)_**

The granite tomb melted away from beneath Hermione's hands to reveal a very ancient looking book with the ancient writing: Određeni član Knjiga nad Ani on the cover, which Hermione immediately recognized as Serbian Latin.

Wasting no time, she summoned her wand to her (which was lying on the hallway floor where Lucius had thrown it) and turned the pocket watch in her pocket into a portkey. Sending out her Patronus (which for those of you who don't know this, that is the communication method used between the Order members) to signify her completion of her part of the mission, Hermione grabbed onto the book and pulled it tightly to her chest, holding the now portkeyed pocket watch in the same hand as the book. Taking one final look into the hallway, she whispered 'Activate' and tapped the portkey.

Just before she felt the familiar tug on her navel, she caught a glimpse of her beloved being pulled into a side door by Lucius.

* * *

**A/N: Okay yay! I finished the other chapter much sooner than I had hoped so I'm on to Chapter 20! Hopefully I'll have it done by my birthday which was my initial goal but I'm not going to promise anything lol. Hope you all like this one, wasnt as action packed as I had originally planned but it served it's purpose.**

_**Translations: **_

_**--"Puteulanus Incendia" means Blue Fire (an incantation I used for Hermione's Bluebell Flames)**_

**_--"Cruor in meus vena est ut cruor ut redimio vos. Commodo ostendo sum ut mihi vestri specialis" This is in Latin, in English it translates to: "The blood in my veins is that blood that binds you. Please reveal to me your secrets."_**

_**--"Određeni član Knjiga nad Ani" means The Book of Ani in Serbian Latin (could not find an Egyptian translator so I had to use Latin instead).**_


	21. Alone

**A/N: Hello again! I know, it's another chapter--lol amazing huh? Well I promised that there would be at least one more chapter by my birthday and seeing as it's now 42 minutes into my birthday, here's my gift to you! This chapter is probably very confusing to some and I apologize but please dont shoot me just yet. I promise everything will be explained in the final chapters! Enjoy and see you soon!---Kai

* * *

_Chapter Twenty: Alone_**

Hermione landed easily (having gotten the hang of the whole portkey experience awhile back) in the middle of Grimmauld Place's living room. She had left her husband there, alone, with his father. She set the book down on the table in the center of the room that had been redone into a make-shift meeting room. Shaking slightly at the realization that she had no clue what might be happening with her beloved and the way they had left things before the mission, she left the living room in search of Molly, who she was supposed to check in with when she returned.

"Mrs. Weasley! Molly, where are you?" Hermione called through the silent house.

"Hermione, is that you?" Molly Weasley came down the stairs slowly, staring at the girl with wide eyes. "How did you get back so soon? Is everything alright?" The older witch had noticed the distraught look on the young woman's eyes.

"Draco…" Hermione said, crumbling with emotion.

The elderly woman gathered Hermione in her arms, motherly, and caressed her tangled curls. The two women stayed like that for awhile until they both heard the familiar swoosh sound of people coming out of the fireplace. Hermione composed herself as much as possible before the two followed the sounds into the living room to hear the briefing on the next part of the mission.

Almost everyone appeared to have returned, some worse off the others but in one piece none-the-less. It seemed that Tonks was missing as was Charlie Weasley and Mundungus Fletcher. All the Weasley's immediately embraced Hermione when they saw her come through the door to the living room. The members quickly sat down, waiting for Lupin to start the briefing.

"Well, the good news is, the mission tonight was a success! Hermione has the book!" The room broke out in applause and cheers but Lupin held up his hands to quiet the room.

Hermione was sitting to Lupin's right, her eyes downcast and her fingers drumming slowly on the cover of the book that only she can touch. Everyone's eyes darted from her back to Lupin and back to the book she was resting her fingers on. The other members continued to discuss what to do next but Hermione's mind was on her husband and his whereabouts. It took almost half and hour for anyone to notice because it was the first time anyone mentioned Draco.

"Hermione, where's Draco?" Lupin suddenly asked, interrupting his own words.

Hermione blinked back a few tears that were threatening to escape. "He's with his father."

There were shocked gasps and disbelieving shudders around the table. Perhaps they took that the wrong way.

"No, no. I don't mean he's with his father willingly. They were dueling, Lucius had ambushed us, and I went off behind Draco to the door blocking the room where the book was. I wasn't paying attention to the fight between the two until it was too late. Lucius got to me and," She gulped hard. " and attacked me but I was able to hold him back with my powers. I got into the room and had just activated the portkey when I looked back down the hallway and saw Draco lying face down on the stone floor and his father dragging him into a side room. It's all my fault. If I would've just stayed by his side and helped him then he wouldn't be stuck there against his will and probably dead by now."

Hermione's composure began to fail again as she said those last words. Surely Lucius wouldn't be as cruel as to kill his only son….would he? Yes, yes he would. And Hermione felt that by leaving him there alone, she had just signed her own husband's death warrant. After a few moments of silence for Draco's situation, Lupin cleared his throat and continued with the discussion.

"Alright, well this changes things a bit. Hermione, we will have to find you another guard that will stay by your side through the battle and help you in any way necessary."

"No." Hermione said, barely loud enough to be heard.

"You cannot…wait, what did you say Hermione?" Lupin started but suddenly looked at the young woman.

"I said no. There's no one else I want with me. Ron is hurt and in the hospital barely alive because of me. My own husband is, Merlin only knows how he is right now, because of me. I am not going to allow anyone else to be hurt because of me. This is my fight now."

As if with finality, she abruptly stood with the book and walked swiftly from the room, not looking at anyone. The members simply watched in shock as the normally composed young woman walked away from them. Hermione went up to their room and shut the door, magically locking it behind her. She set the book down on her desk and immediately went to sit on the edge of their bed. She glanced around the room, never before realizing just how empty that room was with nothing but a small wardrobe, a desk and a full size bed. She couldn't believe that there was a chance that he husband could be dead right now.

_No, he isn't. _Hermione thought to herself. _I would feel it if something that bad happened._

She now needed to decide what she was going to do. There would be no way the other members would allow her to leave the house, let alone by herself. She wanted to go back and try to find her husband but she knew deep down there was nothing she could do at the moment to help him. She just prayed that Lucius would be merciful to his son and that Draco would figure a way back to her.

* * *

Back in Wilshire, Draco awoke with a pounding headache. He peaked open his eyes and almost jerked fully awake when he saw his surroundings. He was lying on his back in the middle of a black and silver, king size bed. The entire room was shrouded in black, silver and dark greens with silver serpent accents everywhere. Draco knew immediately where he was--Malfoy Manor, his old bedroom. The only thing he didn't know was how he got there. It was late, he could tell by the darkness that flooded the room and the chill that he remembered eerily.

Draco slowly slid off the bed and tried to remember how he had got there. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when the door burst open and his father strode determinedly into the room.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up." Lucius sneered at his son.

Seeing his father made Draco spring up and go into action. He jumped in front of his father.

"Where's my wife? Where's Hermione?" Draco asked sternly, his hand reaching for his wand only to come up empty handed.

Lucius chuckled. "Looking for this?" He asked wickedly, twirling his son's wand in his hand. "Like I would allow you to keep it in the state you are in. A few changes need to be made first before it shall be returned to you."

"What changes are you talking about? If you think for one moment that I'd ever turn my back and do anything you say, well you are more delusional than I thought old man." Draco spat at his father.

Lucius smirked and, before Draco could do or say anything, he pointed his wand at his son and said,

"_Memoria Damnum Dormio_."

Draco slumped to the ground, in a deep sleep, his last thoughts of his beloved Hermione fluttering in his mind.

"Sleep well my son," Lucius said more quietly then Draco had ever heard him speak as he levitated his son onto the bed once more. "For tomorrow you're new life begins."

* * *

Hermione awoke with a start, the vivid memory of her husband being dragged away by his father flooding her mind. How could she have just left him there? Who cares about her stupid mission rules--this was her husband! She continued to curse herself over and over until she collapsed on the floor in a torrent of tears. She sat that way for a good while before being interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" Hermione said, standing up and wiping her face as much as possible.

The door cracked open and a red head stuck itself in. "Hermione, are you alright? Mum told me what happened." Ginny Weasley's voice said quietly.

"Oh Gin…" Hermione cried, her voice cracking. Ginny ran into the room and the two enveloped each other in a fierce hug.

The two girls tightly embraced each other, Hermione holding on as if Ginny was the only thing she had left in the world. Both girls cried onto each other's shoulders softly as the pressures of the war and of the awful things going on as they clung to each other.

"I'm so sorry, 'Mione." Ginny said, as she pulled away.

"Thank you Gin. I just don't know what to do. I feel so alone now."

* * *

Draco awoke the next morning, the sunlight pouring through the windows as he blinked his eyes to adjust them to the new light. His mind ached. He tried to remember his dreams but there were only fragments to find left. He still wasn't entirely sure how he had ended up in his old bedroom but for some reason, he felt as if it was right were he was supposed to be. At the same time, however, pieces of him were screaming that something was out of place, something was missing.

There was a loud crack as a house elf appeared at the foot of his bed, armed with a tray of food.

"Master Draco, Master Lucius has ordered me to bring this to you. He says that you will need your strength and to meet him in his study in one hour." The elf told him timidly, setting the tray down on the bedside table.

Draco nodded his head unsurely. "Very well. You are dismissed, Mipsy." He said as if it were second nature, though his voiced echoed a deep ridden uneasiness.

He hurriedly ate down his breakfast and showered, dressing in simple black silk robes that were hung in his wardrobe. Something about the feeling of them struck him as off but he shrugged off the feeling and went to meet his father.

Arriving across the vast manor at his father's study, he knocked twice on the door to signal his arrival and was answered with a leisurely sounding "Enter". Entering the study, he found his father sitting at his desk, reading something from a small piece of parchment. An open bottle of scotch sat on the side of the desk and Draco's wand lying off the center. He crossed the familiar room and sat down in the large, leather armchair in front of the desk.

"How are you feeling this morning, Draco?" His father asked, a small hint of actual curiosity in his voice but did not look up from the parchment he was reading.

"A bit out of sorts to be honest, Father." Draco replied.

Lucius sat down his parchment and looked at his son. "Out of sorts, how?"

"It's peculiar, really. On the surface I feel normal but I keep having these strange feelings that something or someone is missing. I'm sure it's nothing, though."

"Hmm." Lucius simply answered, stroking his chin in thought as he reclined in his chair, never taking his eyes off his son. He continued to do this for a few more moments before sitting up in his chair again and speaking.

"Yes, I'm sure it's nothing. On to other topics, I've called you here this morning because I needed to go over the latest news from the inside sources."

"Inside sources?" Draco interrupted, slightly confused.

"Of course." Lucius responded as if this was the sort of thing he was asked all the time by his son. "You didn't think that we'd go into battle without someone on the inside giving us news about the Order's actions did you?"

Something sparked in Draco, a warning jolt of sorts, but he shrugged it off and nodded nimbly. "Of course not, Father."

"Anyway, as I was saying, apparently according to our source, the Order has been successful in obtaining the artifact that we had been guarding. Our Lord, to say the least, is not pleased."

The tiny jolt went through Draco once again as his father spoke. He couldn't put a finger on it but something definitely seemed wrong with this picture. Why was he here speaking to his father about Voldemort's plans? Wasn't there somewhere else he was supposed to be? Something was definitely not right about the situation at all but yet, Draco could still not put his finger on it.

"He has asked that you take on a very important mission in the upcoming battle, for he feels that this will be the final one." Lucius said sternly, locking eyes with his son as if searching for something deep within Draco.

Draco felt overwhelmingly confused for some reason but simply nodded his head. "Of course, Father. Whatever our Lord wishes."

It almost felt as if it wasn't really him speaking but yet that it was at the same time--peculiar feeling in deed.

Lucius eyed him once again before continuing. "His orders are for you to tail the Mudblood, the heir, during the final battle. Find out where she is, what she is doing. But under no circumstances are you to interfere in any way. Do not let her know that you are there. We have been told by our source that she will be with the other Order members at Hogwarts two nights from now. This is where you are to be. Are there any questions?"

Draco shook his head dutifully. "No, sir. If it's as our Lord wishes, I shall obey."

"Good. Now, you are dismissed. You are to report to Hogwarts at 5 pm tomorrow evening. Severus is expecting you in his secret room in the dungeons."

Draco nodded and left the room. As soon as the door closed, he felt another overwhelming jolt of warning. Something was going on. There was definitely something that was not right about all this. Why did his heart race when his father mentioned the Mudblood? Why did he almost feel angry at this situation? He walked subconsciously to his bedroom and fell back on the bed, his mind racing with questions that he could not answer.

* * *

Ginny had left after a few hours, leaving Hermione in a quiet house with no one to talk to and nothing to keep her company but the horrid thoughts running plaguing her mind. The final phase of the mission was to take place in only two short days at Hogwarts. Hermione needed to be there in order to fulfill her goal--bringing Harry back to her. That's where she would face Voldemort once again, for the last time, and she had a sickening feeling that something bad was going to happen.

The silence and the worry overwhelmed her and exhausted her and she fell into an unsettling sleep, plagued by terrifying dreams.

She had one sickening feeling that terrified her the most….for the first time in her life, she was really and truly alone….

* * *

**_Memoria Damnum Dormio_ (latin) loosely translates to Memory Loss Slumber**


	22. True Love's Plea

**A/N: OMG I am SOO sorry! I know I've been absolutely HORRID to you all for the last few months but I had a massive case of writers block that I soo hope is finally gone. I really really hope you all enjoy this chapter though and I hope that it was worth the wait. And dont worry, this story is NOT over yet. But I do promise that I will update MUCH faster than lately. Luv to you all Kai_

* * *

_ **

_Chapter Twenty-One: True Love's Plea _

_**  
**_

"Yes, young Malfoy. I was well informed of what your father wishes you to do." Snape said to Draco as the latter sat in a chair across the desk from his former professor. "However, I do believe that perhaps you should rethink his wishes."

Snape knew that Lucius had placed Draco under a spell to make him forget his wife, his family, and his new way of life. Lucius had never found out about Snape's true loyalty to the Order so, therefore, was still convinced of his loyalty to Voldemort. Snape had not yet informed the Order of this, however, for he was hoping to somehow persuade the young Malfoy himself. He knew of the spell Lucius used on Draco and he knew that there were ways to uncover the secrets that the spell was used to cover. It was just a matter of triggering the right memory at the right moment.

"Rethink his wishes?" Draco asked, his smirk growing. "Those wishes came from the Dark Lord himself. Shall I forget my loyalty or have you forgotten yours, Severus? The Dark Lord was gracious enough to allow me another chance to redeem myself after that atrocious display with Dumbledore."

Snape sighed inwardly. This was going to be tougher than he had originally thought when Lucius Flooed him and disclosed the information. Somehow, he knew he could break through the spell incasing Draco but he just hoped now that it would be soon enough.

"You should not speak of such things, Mr. Malfoy. I do not think that your _wife_ would approve." Snape replied, hoping that the mention of a wife would help spark something. Unfortunately, it did not seem to work.

"Wife? I have no wife, Severus. You know that Pansy and I have gone our separate ways and I am focusing on my duties now." Snape reeled inwardly at the other piece of false "memory" that Lucius had thrown into the spell.

Snape stayed silent for a few moments, his head swimming through his thoughts before speaking again.

"I had forgotten, forgive me. So, you wish to go through with the plans as they were given to you then?"

"Yes, I will not fail this time."

Severus sighed openly again, gaining a confused look from the younger Malfoy. "Very well, Draco. Come to me in one hour. That is when we are to leave to join the others."

Snape waved Draco from his secret chambers and as soon as the door closed, he pulled out a piece of parchment to write an urgent letter to the Order.

* * *

Hermione sat in the chair beside the window of the sitting room. Outside the sky was dark and the rain had already begun to fall.

_Figures_, Hermione thought as she stared out into the night. _It always rains in the movies on nights like tonight. Oh, Draco, where are you?_

The Order members were dispersed throughout the house, each preparing for the battle that was about to go down in their own way. Some were simply taking it as just another battle, mainly the older members who had seen a lot already and were more or less used to the ways of battle. Others were meditating, or practicing their techniques, or simply talking with those they loved. Ginny had been in several times over the last thirty minutes to see how Hermione was doing but the brunette had simply remained wordless and Ginny had given up. There was only a short hour left until they had arranged to start their attacks but Hermione wasn't even thinking about that now. All that she was worried about was her love, her husband, and her family.

She was sitting with her legs bent up in front of her, sideways on the chair, staring out into the rain, sipping on a cup of chamomile tea (something she always did when she was deep in thought or simply felt a need to get away from reality for a moment). The door to the sitting room creaked open but Hermione paid it no notice, assuming that Ginny had simply returned yet again to try to get her to open up.

" 'Mione." One word spoken, but Hermione immediately snapped from her thoughts and turned slowly towards the voice which sounded right behind her. She had to be imagining things, he couldn't be here, it couldn't be…

"Ron." Hermione said, barely whispering as her forgotten cup slipped from her hands as she stared at her red-headed best friend in shock.

His arm was bandaged up and there were visible scars still marring his face and neck but he was there, alive and right in front of her. She slowly stood to her feet in front of the red-head and carefully raised her hand, moving it ever so gently along the side of his face, almost as if testing to be sure that he was real. Almost instinctively, Ron's hand moved up to grasp hers as it rested on his cheek and seemingly with lightening speed, the two pulled each other simultaneously into each other's arms, sobbing into each other's shoulders.

"You didn't actually think I'd just lie back in that blasted hospital and let you have all the fun, did you?" Ron said, pulling back from Hermione and laughing slightly.

* * *

Two hours later, the sun had disappeared completely into the horizon and a dark shadow was now cast upon the school. Lucius had met up with his son before Draco and Snape could leave to the meeting and told him that Voldemort had told him that he was to remain at the school while Lucius and the rest of the Death Eaters located the Order. So, now Draco was hiding in the shadows of the castle, waiting silently for his 'prey' to arrive. A few times he had allowed his mind to wander and would come across strange memories that seemed so familiar and yet he couldn't place them. Most of them were centered around a beautiful brunette woman and a darling little girl. He didn't recognize them and he could never seem to recall their faces but he could tell that there was love in the air whenever the 'memories' of the two flickered through his mind. Draco had also discovered earlier the night before that he wore a strange silver ring, a serpent with tiny rubies for eyes, on his left hand but he could not for the life of him remember where or when he got it or why.

He didn't have to wait long for his 'prey', however, because after only around twenty minutes, she came creeping out of the castle with a redhead, whom Draco immediately recognized as Ron Weasley. They were creeping towards the mausoleum that was set off near the Forbidden Forest. He could vaguely make out in the dark that Hermione appeared to be carrying a book of some sorts.

"Ron, this way! We're going to set up camp in Harry's mausoleum." Hermione whispered to Ron as they made their way through the shadows on the castle grounds.

"Why are we going to visit Harry, Hermione?" Ron whispered back. Hermione really hadn't filled him in much on what was going to happen that night except for the fact that he was to help her out in any way possible.

"Shh!" Hermione whispered back as they got to the iron gate that guarded the entrance to the mausoleum.

Draco watched the two use an unlocking charm and enter the quiet mausoleum. He used this opportunity to close in on his prey and sneak into the mausoleum himself. He stood towards the entrance, cloaked in the darkness of the shadows, his cloak over his pale blonde head. Draco watched closely and quietly as Hermione set to work setting up the Book on the tiny podium beside Harry's tomb. It wasn't until the duo had quieted their whispers and were now sitting side by side beside the tomb that Draco revealed himself.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the famous Mudblood and her not-so-famous sidekick. Come for a little reunion have you?" Draco drawled, stepping from the shadows and twirling his wand.

Hermione eyes widened as her husband stepped from the shadows but she couldn't hide her confusion and hurt as that terrible word slipped from his lips just as it had so many years ago. Ron sensed his friend's confusion and hurt and almost immediately jumped to his feet…well as quickly as he could seeing as he was still not fully healed from his prior injuries.

"Where in the bloody hell have you been, Malfoy?" Ron spat at the blonde haired man. "Do you realize how terrified and worried Hermione has been?"

Hermione stood up behind her friend and gently pulled him back, stepping forward in front of her husband.

"Draco? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked slowly, her voice slightly shaking as she could sense that something was very, very wrong.

Draco looked confused and jumped slightly when Hermione stepped forward into the pale moonlight that drifted through one of the few windows that were set high in the mausoleum walls. A couple memories jumped through his mind but he could not figure out what they had to do with the girl he'd lived his entire life to hate, the girl his father had sent him here to dispose of. He stopped twirling his wand and pointed it loosely at the wide-eyed, brunette woman approaching him.

"If I were you, Granger, I would think twice about moving any closer." Draco said sternly, pointing his wand at her. He could see her visibly shake her head in confusion at the use of her old surname.

"Draco, what has gotten into you?" Hermione asked again, stepping closer, her hand on her wand discreetly in her back pocket. "Where have you been and why are you calling me 'Granger'?"

Draco looked at her oddly for a moment. "Why wouldn't I call you that? It is your name, isn't it? Unless you've gone and gotten yourself hitched to Weasel here while I've been away."

Hermione looked like she had been slapped in the face. She could see Draco's wand shaking slightly and the confusion was evident in his icy blue eyes.

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about?" Hermione lost her calm and shout at her husband, holding up her left hand to show an almost identical silver serpent ring but with tiny emerald eyes. "You know bloody well that we've been married since April! Did none of the last almost three years mean absolutely nothing to you?"

Hermione was beyond confused but she could sense deep inside that the man before her, while her husband in physical appearance, was definitely not the man she fell in love with and married just a short while ago. There was something oddly different about this man, something that frightened her and she was not at all sure what it was. And yet, she could still see the familiar sparkle deep behind those beautiful eyes she had fell in love with.

Draco felt an odd tingle on his left hand and broke eye contact to look down momentarily. He was taken aback slightly when he saw that the ruby eyes on the serpent ring on his ring finger, the one that matched almost identically to the one that Hermione had shown him on her hand, were glowing brightly.

_What in the bloody hell is going on?_ Draco thought to himself, unknowingly lowering his right hand, which held his wand, and raising his left to look at the ring more closely. Unknown to him, while he was distracted by the glowing ring and his tingling hand, Hermione had stepped closer to him.

"Draco…please…," Hermione pleaded softly with her husband, hoping that somehow she could break him out of whatever spell was holding him.

Her voice shook him out of his thoughts and he immediately raised his wand again, pointing it at her heart. Smirking at her, with the same smirk that haunted Hermione for six long years in school, he opened his mouth to throw an Unforgivable Curse at her when suddenly an evil chuckle came from the shadows by the door.

"Good…very good." Voldemort's voice filled the room.

Before any of the other occupants of the mausoleum had a chance to respond, an unheard spell was thrown at Hermione and she found herself being hurtled into the far stone wall, her head crashing in a blinding pain against it. She was stuck on the wall, dangling barely two feet from the stone floor with no ability to move.

Ron, binded by another unheard curse, could do nothing to help his friend. Instead he was forced to watch as Draco pointed his wand at Hermione and uttered the Cruciatus Curse at her, causing her to writhe in pain, tears flooding from her honey eyes that were kept pointedly on Draco.

"That's enough, Young Malfoy." Voldemort's voice echoed once again and he drew closer to Hermione on the wall, pulling out his own wand from his robe pocket. Draco lowered his wand and smirked maliciously at his unknown wife as Voldemort pointed his wand at her heart.

"You see, Miss Granger, your pleas will not be heard for they are not strong enough to break through my spell." Voldemort said, in a soft, evil-filled voice. "I have proven now that this love they speak of is not strong enough to defeat power. Power always triumphs and tonight you will die while your husband watches. _CRUCIO!"_

Hermione felt as if a million knives were stabbing her all at once from every inch of her body but she refused to give in, to give the satisfaction of her screams and instead kept her bloodshot, tear filled eyes pointed directly at her husband, never giving up hope that somehow he would hear her.

Voldemort kept the curse raging through her body and smiled wickedly as he saw her resolve breaking finally. Hermione closed her eyes tightly against the vicious pain that tore through her to her very soul and used every ounce of strength she had left to try one last attempt to break through the spell that bound her husband.

_Please Draco… please help me… _She opened her eyes and stared directly into the icy blue eyes that were staring back at her. _Please save me…_

Having no strength left in her to keep her screams in, she felt her body start to give out and sag in exhaustion and pain against the invisible bound that held her to the wall and the last thing she heard before darkness overtook her was the sound of her blood chilling scream echoing off the stone walls of Harry's mausoleum.


	23. The Power of Love

**A/N: Omg I'm so sorry guys! I swear I've had massive trouble getting the end of this story written and I still have a couple chapters left so dont fret, the end has not arrived yet! Also, I will be busy the last weekend of September as well as the third weekend in October. My boyfriend is going to be coming into town the last week of Sept and I'm heading to California on Oct 20 for the weekend. But I promise I will continue to try to get these last few chapters out before Christmas. Love you all! Kai_

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_**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Power of Love**_

An ear piercing, blood curdling scream could be heard echoing across the vast Hogwarts grounds accompanied by a wickedly evil laughter.

"That's right little Mudblood. Scream for death." Voldemort cackled as Ron watched his best friend writhing from pain but being unable to move.

"Damn it, Malfoy! Help her you pathetic piece of shit!" Ron screamed at Draco, fighting desperately against his invisible bounds. "Snap out of whatever pathetic curse is on you and help her before he KILLS HER!"

Draco stood with a now dazed and confused look on his face as he shook his head. He could hear Granger's voice in his head but it didn't make any sense.

_Please Draco… please help me… Please save me…_

Suddenly Draco's smug expression vanished and he grabbed his chest as he felt his heart feel as if it was about to explode inside of his chest. He glanced up at the girl on the wall as he swore he heard her voice inside his head again begging him for help. He watched in pain as her head lolled to the side and her body seemed to slump against the invisible restraints holding it up. As her body seemed to give out to it's last few moments, Draco's own vision began blurring and he found himself falling to his knees and then to the floor as the room spun around him and he blacked out, the pain in his chest burning.

_Draco awoke and blinked his eyes a few times, looking around at his surroundings, completely confused as to where he was. He remembered blacking out in the mausoleum and remembered the burning, searing pain in his chest. Yet where was he now? He moved himself, realizing that he was no longer in any pain, and pushed himself to his knees then to his feet, his eyes looking around rapidly at the beautiful land around him. Lush green grass sprouted up as far as the eye could see and it was speckled with white daisies. The sun was beating down on him warmly and the soft breeze felt wonderful._

_Looking around further, he saw someone standing on the top of a nearby hill. The sun was in his eyes and he could only make out the outline but it was definitely a girl….a girl with long flowing brown locks that swayed softly in the slight breeze. She was wearing what looked like a muggle dress, and it too was softly fluttering around her frame in the shallow breeze. _

_Not quite knowing who she was or why he was there, he felt pulled towards the woman and found himself walking up the hill towards the figure, his eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. That's when he heard it….the voice he heard in the mausoleum inside his head. It seemed to be floating on the breeze around him but yet seemed plain as day._

"_Draco….Draco, my love."_

_Draco blinked a few times as he drew closer to the woman and then suddenly, as if she was stepping out of the light, she came into view fully and there she was….Hermione. She smiled at Draco and lifted her arm, holding her hand out to him. Still slightly confused as to what was going on, Draco reached out and took her hand. In that first contact, it was as if a black veil that had been covering him had been lifted and he suddenly stumbled slightly._

"_It's alright , my love. Don't be afraid. He cant hurt us here."_

_Stumbling again, trying to regain his footing as he followed her down the hill, still unsure of what was happening or why exactly he was willingly holding Hermione Granger's hand._

"_He who exactly? Who are we hiding from?"_

"_Why your father of course, silly." She replied, laughing slightly as if it was the most obvious answer in the world._

"_Why would I hide from my father? Why am I here? And further more, why are YOU here?" Draco asked suddenly stopping, causing Hermione to stop as well and turn to face him, a frown gracing her once smiling lips. She looked down towards their entwined hands, causing Draco to do the same._

_There he saw the strange ring on his finger, the ruby eyes glistening like blood in the sunlight. And beside it, on her finger entwined beside his, was a matching ring, it's emerald eyes sparkling. He looked at the two rings for a moment before returning his gaze to hers and as his icy blue-grey eyes met her honey ones, vivid images began flashing before his eyes._

_**He saw her walking towards her, smiling through happy tears in a beautiful white gown. **_

_**He saw her standing in front of him, her eyes brimming with happy tears as her soundless lips traced the words I love you.**_

_**He saw himself placing the ring on her finger and her doing the same to him before smiling back at him.**_

_Blinking his eyes, he looked at her standing in the sunlight and glanced at their intertwined hands again. Returning his gaze once again to her honey brown eyes, it was as if he hadn't seen her in months._

"_Mia? Wh-what are we doing here?" He stuttered, trying to figure out what was going on._

_Hermione smiled at him and reached her hand up to touch his face lovingly. Feeling as if he hadn't felt her touch in ages, he closed his eyes and leaned into her hand._

"_There is plenty of time to talk later, my love. Now I need you to wake up." She told him, causing him to open his eyes and stare at her confusedly only to be met with a very serious look in her eyes._

"_Draco, wake up now. You must wake up. Please baby, I need you to wake up NOW!" Hermione told him and as she spoke, her image in front of him faded into nothing and suddenly her voice boomed the last word, leaving it echoing in his ears as his eyes once again blurred and the world around him went black._

Shaking his head, Draco looked around again and saw that he was in a mausoleum. Glancing around, he saw Ron tied with invisible bonds on the far side of the stone room and hearing a loud, wicked cackle, he spun around to see Voldemort removing a curse from a very pale looking Hermione who was hanging by invisible ropes on the stone wall. His memory suddenly shooting back into his mind as he saw her looking almost dead like on the wall and he remembered everything. Their fight, his father, the spell…everything.

As quietly as possible, Draco got to his feet and finding his wand in his pocket, he whispered a spell and pointed it at Ron across the room and immediately looking at the red-head, he put his finger to his lips telling him to be quiet. Turning back around he saw that Voldemort was now walking towards his wife. Determined not to allow the evil bastard to touch her again, he summoned up all the strength he had and shot a stunning spell at Voldemort's back.

"STUPIFY!" Draco's voice sounded loudly, echoing off the stone walls of Harry's mausoleum.

Voldemort, being caught off guard by the loud curse from his supposed follower, spun on his heel just in time for the red stream to collide with his chest and throw him backwards into the stone wall….only inches from where Hermione still hung limply. Throwing two more curses in succession, a disarming and a binding curse, he rushed forward as soon as he was positive that the force was enough to keep Voldemort bound at least for a few moments.

"FINITE INCATATEM!" Draco hollered at Hermione and rushed to her just as her invisible bonds dissolved and she fell forward limply from the wall, landing in Draco's arms just seconds before she would have smashed into the hard stone floor.

Cradling his wife in his arms, her motionless head lying limply on his arm, he pulled her close to him and found himself beginning to sob.

"Hermione, Mia, baby. Please wake up. I'm so sorry, love. Please you cant be dead, I swear I'll make everything better just please baby, please open your eyes." Draco pleaded with Hermione's lifeless body, placing kisses all over her lips and face in hopes that his pleas would be heard.


	24. Hermione's Sacrifice

**A/N: Well I promised I would try to get these up before Christmas so here I am with the final chapter and the small epilogue! I dont know if I'm completely satisfied with the way this final chapter turned out, it did what I hoped it would but yet, it seems to me at least that something is missing. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay in posting it, I hope that you all consider it worth the wait. As I said, this is the final chapter for the Destiny Series (well and the short epilogue). I want to take a moment and thank all of my awesome readers/reviewers. I would go ahead and name off all of them but seeing as this entire trilogy has been posted for over a year it would take quite awhile to do so, so forgive me if I dont name you all. But it is because of you all that I was able to finish this series, which initially started as simply a short story and has now towered on to a 3-part series. One of these days, I am thinking of taking all 3 books and posting them together in one long "story" so that is easier to find all the pieces. If this is something that you think would be a good idea, please review and let me know your opinions. Thank you all once again for sticking with me over the last year or so even though there were times that it was unclear if the story would ever be finished. I love you all.**

**Now I give you the final "chapter" of the Destiny Series! And be sure to check out (if you would like) HPFF as well in a few weeks because once the final installment validates there, there will also be a triage of brand new banners created once again by Molly, aka SecretSoul at TheDarkArts.**

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**_Chapter 23: Hermione's Sacrifice_**

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Hermione opened her eyes to find herself not in the cold hard dungeon like she remembered, but instead in a warm dark open space. She looked around swiftly, trying to get her eyes to see something, anything, to determine where she was but instead she was faced with more darkness. However, she wasn't afraid of this darkness, it seemed calming. She stood still for a few moments and finally the realization seemed to set in and she clutched at her chest, knowing that she was dead and that she had failed her mission.

Suddenly the darkness around her started to glow and she turned on the spot to see if she could find where the soft light was coming from. She found that the soft glow was emitting from behind her and she cautiously walked towards it. Instinctively she reached for her wand, only to discover it was not where it should be. As the glowing light brightened around her, her eyes searched for something, someone, anything really that could confirm her suspicions. After walking towards the ever brightening light for what seemed like hours, when she finally saw a figure standing in the bright light ahead. The glow seemed to be coming from this figure and as Hermione moved slowly towards it, she noticed that it was female. The light seemed to grow brighter, almost blinding, as she approached the woman, but just as she thought that her eyes would not be able to stand the light any longer, it was gone.

The blinding light was replaced by a warming sunlight. Hermione now found herself standing in the middle of a lush green field, the sunlight pouring down on her and a warm, gentle breeze softly moving around her. She could see the woman clearly now and noticed that she was Egyptian. She took a couple more steps towards her and saw that the woman seemed to be smiling warmly back at her. Hermione opened her mouth to speak but was instead interrupted by the woman addressing her instead.

"Welcome, Hermione. I have been expecting you." The beautiful Egyptian woman said to her, smiling.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and just stared at the woman, taking in her appearance. She was a beautiful, tanned, woman, with long black hair and deep caramel eyes that seemed to twinkle at her knowingly. The woman was wearing a flowing white Toga that was tied around her with long golden ropes. As Hermione moved her eyes to the woman's, the woman nodded at her understandingly and beckoned her wordlessly closer. As if automatically, Hermione took a few steps forward closing the gap between herself and the beautiful woman.

"Who…," Hermione began. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled at her again and motioned to the side of them, where Hermione saw a marble bench that she was positive was not there only seconds before. The woman moved towards the bench and Hermione followed, sitting down slowly as the woman sat on the opposite end of the bench.

"I am Isis." The woman said simply.

Hermione's eyes widened and she had the sudden urge to slide off the bench and bow before the great goddess. As if sensing this, Isis smiled and placed her hand over Hermione's.

"There is no need, my child. I have come here to help you."

"Help me? How?," Hermione asked curiously, figuring that she must be speaking of helping her move on to the afterlife because Hermione knew that she was dead.

"You see, my child," Isis began, her deep caramel eyes looking deep into Hermione's. "You have not failed. All things will happen as they are intended. I have come to offer you a choice …..."

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Coldness and sorrow swept over Draco as he kneeled on the cold stone floor, clutching his wife's limp body to his. His eyes stung with tears as he realized that she was gone and that bastard on the other side of the room was to blame. He blamed himself as well, for not being strong enough to fight off the curse his father placed upon him. For allowing Voldemort to torture his beloved before his eyes and do nothing to stop it. He lowered his head and clutched Hermione's cold lifeless body tighter against his own and sobbed.

A soft hand on his shoulder jerked him from his suffering and he turned his head to see Ron kneeling beside him, tears in his own blue eyes. Ron's eyes found his own and the two former enemies stared at each other for a moment.

"It wasn't your fault, mate." Ron said, his eyes moving from Draco's to the body of his best friend.

Draco's eyes watered once more and he turned away from Ron, looking back down at his beloved lying dead in his arms. How could he say it was not his fault? He should've stopped it, he should've been stronger. A fresh batch of tears began to overflow from his eyes as he heard a weakened, hoarse cackle come from the opposite site of the stone room. His eyes thinned angrily as he looked slowly across the floor to see Voldemort had fought off his spell and was weakly moving towards them, his energy apparently depleted from the amount of magic he had used.

Not taking his eyes off the wizard, he gently handed Hermione's limp body over to Ron, who opened his mouth to say something but Draco cut him off with a harsh glare as he got to his feet and took a step towards the evil being.

"Pitiful." Voldemort sneered, his red eyes sweeping over Draco's form as he straightened his posture to glare down at Draco. "Weak and pitiful. To think I once considered you for my successor, young Malfoy. And now here you stand, heartbroken and blubbering over some stupid Mudblood whore."

Anger boiled inside Draco, replacing his sorrow as his fists clenched beside him, his icy blue eyes staring venomously at the wizard before him. The magical energy crackled at his fingertips, making the air around him crackle as well. He took another step towards Voldemort.

"What are you planning to do now? Seek revenge for your poor dead Mudblood? Do you really believe you could harm me Draco? You are nothing. Nothing but a worthless, spoiled, brat that should've been taught better." Voldemort sneered, his lip curling into a disgusting sneer as if he had just smelt something horrific.

Draco stepped a few steps closer, now standing less than five feet from Voldemort. His eyes bore into Voldemort's red slits. The two wizards stood facing each other, eye to eye, neither moving or blinking for what seemed like eternity. A visible twitch appeared in Voldemort's eye and Draco smirked wickedly, his eyes thinning but never breaking their hold on the other's.

"Revenge is a tacky word." Draco's firm voice sounded quietly. "Personally, I prefer vengeance."

The air around Draco began crackling with blue electricity as the magic pooled around him, his anger and hurt fueling it's power. He felt the magical energy pooling in his clenched hand and he glanced down for a moment to see a blue ball of magical energy forming around his right hand and he looked up and smirked at Voldemort.

"This ends now." Draco said calmly.

And in a flash of blue energy, Draco swiftly brought his hand up towards Voldemort.

* * *

Hermione looked at Isis curiously, questioning the woman.

"A choice? What choice can you offer me? I'm dead….there's no going back." Hermione said, shaking her head , her voice cracking slightly at the end.

Isis smiled at Hermione once more. "Ah, my child, but that is where you are wrong. Your body may be dead, yes, but your life-force is still strong. And it is anchored to the living world because of your love connection with your husband. Being magical, the energy that runs through your veins and through your very essence is one of utmost power. That, tied in with your soul connection with your husband, creates a very rare bond, tying the two of your souls together…even in mortal death."

Hermione stood and walked a few steps away from Isis, her mind trying to process what the goddess was telling her. She stood, looking out over the lush landscape, her arms folded across her chest, her eyes filling with tears as she thought of her husband and her daughter whom she'd left behind. She couldn't think of anything she'd rather have than the chance to see them both once more, if only to say goodbye. Blinking her eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to fall, she turned back to Isis.

"So, what is this choice that you have come all this way to offer me?"

Isis stood and moved over to Hermione. "The choice is a simple one, but it's not one that should be taken lightly. There will be consequences and sacrifices that will be made for either choice but it is your choice to make, Hermione. I cannot make it for you."

Hermione lowered her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and nodding silently, before raising her eyes again to Isis' to show that she was ready to hear her options.

"First, you can choose to return to your body as it is at this moment. You will regain your memories of all that has happened beforehand. However, be warned that there is currently a battle occurring in your absence and any disruption to this battle could be disastrous….though there is always a chance that it could be a great help as well. You will be forced to abandon your second mission, your friend, however."

Hermione's eyes lit up at the prospect of returning to exactly where she had fallen from, returning and finishing her work, her mission. She opened her mouth, about to jump at the chance when Isis raised her hand to stop her.

"Remember, there is a second choice. You may go back to the beginning, to before the point of loss for your friend. Before the point of your destiny. This chance, to turn back time, to erase what has happened and give a soul a chance to relive, is not a chance that is handed out lightly. Think about that, but also, as you make your choice, remember, there are sacrifices that must be made for either choice. I cannot tell you what sacrifices are required but there is payment needed for second chances. Decide carefully, my child, for once your choice has been made, there is no going back."

* * *

Voldemort's eyes widened as he watched, in what felt like slow motion, as Draco's hand rose and a blue electric ball of magical energy sped over the small distance between himself and the young wizard, giving him no time to react before the ball crashed into his chest, surging through his body and crashing his body against the wall behind him. The old wizard felt the bones in his body crack under the pressure from the magical energy ball. His eyes closed and he summoned every once of strength he had left in his worn body to try to fight off the magic that was now sending shockwaves through his body and racking his bones. He fought against the energy to raise his wand at his former follower but he was not quick enough.

Just as Voldemort's hand was raised to striking height, Draco summoned a sword from the wall behind the evil wizard and held it tightly, pulling it back and piercing it through Voldemort's black heart.

* * *

For what felt like hours, Hermione sat on the stone bench staring at her hands, weighing the options in her mind. After what she hoped was the most careful consideration she could find, she stood resolutely and walked over to where Isis was standing away from the bench and announced she was ready.

"I've made my decision."

A swirling white light surrounded Hermione, disorienting her. The past two years flashed through her mind, in rapid rewind mode, bits and visions going backwards over her life. The swirling light stopped and Hermione opened her eyes as she heard a distinct CRACK, like a twig breaking in the silence as if someone stepped on it. Looking up through teary eyes, she had an immediate sense of déjà vu as she looked directly down the pathway into the icy blue eyes of Draco. Jumping to her feet, she realized that she had returned to the moment her life changed forever, there in front of her beloved Hogwarts, her future love staring at her about to ask for her help. Smiling to herself, she darted down the stairs but stopped herself at the bottom step as she realized that Draco was staring at her completely dumbfounded and slightly unnerved and that's when it hit her. This is what Isis warned her about, the sacrifice that had to be made for payment. While she remembered every miniscule detail of the past, well now future, two years of their lives, Draco had no knowledge. To him, she was still "Mudblood Granger", best friend of Harry Potter and complete pain in his ass.

Taking a deep breath, she resolved herself, and raised the wand in her hand towards Draco, just as she had done years ago at this same moment….hoping deep down that it would all be worth it in the end, that everything would work out on the long road ahead.


	25. Epilogue: 13 Years Later

**_Epilogue: Thirteen Years Later_**

Cheers erupted around the luscious backyard as eleven year old, Alexis Malfoy, blew out the candles on her birthday cake. Hermione Malfoy watched her daughter smile and wave at everyone, carefully making her way through her birthday presents. She leaned against a tree off to the side of the yard, watching the joyous day from the sidelines as her mind drifted back to that fateful moment thirteen years ago. She felt a warm hand slide around her waist and a soft pair of lips kiss her temple and she smiled, looking up to see her beloved husband of over eleven years smiling down at her, his beautiful light blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight.

"Well, another Malfoy is headed to Hogwarts. I wonder if her experience is going to be as wild and wonderful as ours was." Draco said, leaning his head on hers, his arms wrapping around her waist.

Hermione laughed. "Wild and wonderful? Where were you the first six years of our school days Draco? I seem to recall you trying to make my life a living hell."

"Ah, yes, true. I was a spoiled brat wasn't I?" Draco said, tightening his hold on her waist. "But it was all worth it in the end wasn't it?"

Hermione smiled, thinking about his words as she looked out over the yard. It was packed full of friends and family, smiles and love. She let her eyes travel across the party-goers. There was Ron and Lavender, who had gotten back together after school and had just celebrated their five year anniversary. Beside them, laughing and joking, were Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, who had also gotten together after Hogwarts and were now married with 3 kids. Hermione's smile brightened as she watched Alexis tearing through the crowd after her seven year old brother, Damien, their five year old twin siblings, Jennavive and Jordan running after them laughing hysterically.

Finally her eyes swept over a couple by the food tables over on the opposite side of the yard. Ginny Weasley was sitting with her feet up on a chair, rubbing her enlarged stomach which held her fifth child. Beside her, her raven-haired husband stood and turned around towards Hermione's direction. Her eyes locked on a pair of sparkling emerald green eyes and she smiled warmly at her best friend.

She let her mind travel back over the last thirteen years for a moment. Harry, with help from Ron, herself and Draco, who had become a very close friend and ally of the trio's over their final year at Hogwarts, had brought down Voldemort once and for all shortly before they graduated school. Harry had married Ginny almost immediately following school and shortly after, Draco had proposed to Hermione as well, the two marrying only a few months later. A short year later they had welcomed Alexis into the world and their love only grew from their on out. Hermione thought back further to the memories only she held and the choice she was given. Her mind drifted back to reality as she heard Draco's voice in her ear once more.

"Hermione, earth to Mia." Draco said, turning her around and looking into her eyes. "I asked, was it all worth it?"

Hermione looked deep into her husband's eyes and smiled lovingly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yes, Draco. It was definitely worth it all." She replied, reaching up and kissing him tenderly.

**Final Author's Note:**

**Well my friends, that is the end of the series. Maybe one day, if there is enough of a demand (hint hint wink wink review) there might possibly be a sequel of sorts with Alexis or the other children. I havent really had any ideas for a story like that but I wont say never. I am going to be deleting Of Love and Loss and Destined to Be however. I havent really had any new inspirations for them and rather than leaving them abandoned with readers begging to know what happens, I've decided to take them down for now until, possibly, I am able to come up with more for the stories and repost them. If anyone has any ideas for something they'd like to see as a Dramione story, please feel free to let me know as well and perhaps inspiration, like that of Destiny, will strike again. Love to all of you that have stuck by me through the last couple years and thank you all so much for everything.**


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